


King of Thrones

by Jaehaerys_Joestar



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV), Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen, Sennen Items | Millennium Items, Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:13:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 143,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22940803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaehaerys_Joestar/pseuds/Jaehaerys_Joestar
Summary: The Game Has Changed: All over the known world, people awaken to find metal devices on their arms and pieces of paper with strange images. Some embrace it, others use it out of necessity, and others just have no idea what is going on. Warrior or scholars, lord or small-folk. They shall become Duelists. . M for ASOIAF. No YGO characters planned. 1-2 MC a land.Summary copied from summary on Fanfiction.net.
Relationships: Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark, Gilly/Samwell Tarly, Jon Snow/Ygritte
Comments: 5
Kudos: 32





	1. Prologue: Rules and Changes

Couple of notes for now: I am new, so I apologize for any rookie mistakes.

I have sort of fallen off of Yu-Gi-Oh for a while, So I will be sticking to the basics of the original series, and then maybe adding synchro and XYZ in later, as that was where I stopped until getting the game app. Which I will likely be using to refamiliarize myself with the cards, as well as the wiki and such.

Been a bit since I read the books, so may get some terms or such wrong. (Anyone know a conversion of Westerosi money and USD?)

Some Characters will have themed decks, but not right away and not everyone. Also, some characters are gonna be smart and occasionally switch out their cards, so if you see a point where the solution is to use a previously seen card, assume it was swapped out for a bit.

Doing 4000 LP so the duels are not too long, and each deck will be between 40-60 cards. (also, I have no idea what games were around in the medieval era, but I'm assuming they did not have playing cards.)

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Card Names (May forget to do this, probably will not when done in speech).

Without further ado, wish me luck and let us start.

Prologue- Ned

Winterfell

Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North, and head of house Stark, sat in his Solar, staring at the metal object that had attached to his arm while he slept a week ago. Like he had done since, he concentrated on it and it disappeared, the weight leaving his arm. Another moment of concentration and it had returned. He then shifted his attention to the pieces of paper, all stacked together that sat on his desk. He picked the first one up and examined it. On it was an image of some wolf with greyish green fur. "Fitting I suppose" Ned thought as he read the card. Silver Fang was its name. As he held it in his hand, he sensed a now familiar stream of information being sent to his brain.

Ned put it back on top of the deck, once it was out of his hand, the information stopped. It was still there in the back of his mind, but Ned would have to think to recall it. He gave himself over to his memories of the last week. After awakening with this mysterious metal on his arm, and the cards on his desk, he was immediately greeted by Maester Luwin.

It became apparent that Ned was not the only one to awaken to such strange items. Many in Winterfell awoke to find metal and paper in their rooms. Of the guards on the night watch, none had them at first, but after seeing them once people began to wake up, the guards could summon The Metal and paper by thinking. As for the children, everyone but Rickon, who had just turned 2 the moon before, had possessed the metal arm and deck. In the week between then and now, a son of a cook had had his 6th nameday, and The Metal had appeared on that day.

Unsure what to make of these strange events, Ned had ordered word be spread to everyone not to use either under any circumstances. While Maester Luwin sent ravens to the Citadel and other Maesters to learn of these strange events, Ned and several others had gone to the Godswood to pray for an answer.

Suddenly, a knock on the door grabbed Ned's attention back to the present. "Enter" He commanded. Maester Luwing walked into the room. "What news on the Duel Disk?" He asked the learned man.

Maester Luwin sighed and began to speak. "Strange news my Lord, and not just from the Citadel. We have learned that the objects have appeared everywhere, as far east as Norvos, perhaps further, but it appears to be everywhere. Maester Aemon on the wall can describe any card he holds, and apparently some Wildling that were captured trying to climb the wall gained them as well." Luwin took a moment to try to explain what news he had. "This goes further than we could have imagined, it appears that these cards hold great power."

"Cards?" Ned asked. He looked at the papers, "Is that what it's called?"

"I could ask you the same about the Duel Disk." Luwin pointed out.

Ned went to respond before he stopped in shock. Duel Disk, he had said that just moments ago, as if it was the most natural term. Just minutes ago, he had referred to it as "The Metal". He leaned back in his chair, "So, the more we interact with them, the more we know of them." He summarized to the Maester. After receiving a nod in agreement, he closed his eyes and asked, "What have we learned from the Citadel?"

Luwin began. "Over time the rules about the cards and how to use them will become clear, so I will leave that out for now. Strange events occurred following the appearance of the cards and disk. While the Citadel is still studying, we have news from elsewhere that these things affect our lives." Luwin took a moment to think, but also perhaps to try to come to terms with the events he was about to describe. "Apparently a thief in King's Landing attacked a merchant with the Cards. The Gold Cloaks could watch but were barred from reaching the thief. After he won the Thief was able to leave with the stolen goods and the Gold Cloaks could not lay a finger on him. However, when he tried another merchant the next day, he ended up defeated and the Gold Cloaks took him into custody."

Ned took a moment to contemplate that. If it were true, then it could lead to chaos as criminals of all stripes could escape justice. "I take it there is more?"

Luwin nodded and continued. "The most common reports we have received are children using them against each other as a game, nothing bad has happened to any of the children to do so. However, there was a tavern fight in Oldtown. One drunkard pulled a knife, only for it to disappear and for both of their disks to appear instead. Afterwards, the other drunkard won and assumed he was invincible, he ended up jumping into the port and drowning."

Ned took a moment to consider this, "So the cards will prevent harm from others unless they win but will not protect against ourselves." Thinking of this, Ned supposed that alleviated some of his fears from earlier, if every possible victim had a chance to fight back, then perhaps it was for the best. His mind wandered to the Sack of King's Landing and to the bodies wrapped in red. "If the Cards had come back then, could Elia have defended herself and her children from the Mountain?"

Luwin continued on, "There was also a story of a third born son of a minor lord in the Reach. He decided to use what little power he had to force himself onto women, only he ended up raping the bastard of a neighbouring lord who arrested him. He and his compatriot, a son of a knight, both requested trial by combat using the Cards. During the duel, his body was struck by attacks, doing actual damage to him. When he lost, his wounds proved fatal. His partner surrendered his duel, and his injuries were healed but he still felt the pain. He decided to take the Black, but the journey was too much for him and he died two days later, the traveling Crow, Yoren, who was bringing him up went to the nearest holding and the maester reported that the duel must have sapped his strength. Another criminal was sentenced to execution but requested the night's watch, the lord decided on trial by combat to decide his fate and he also sustained injury, but they healed after his victory and he is currently on his way."

Taking all of this information into account, Ned was beginning to see a pattern. "The only danger is when one party wishes it upon the other."

"Exactly so, my Lord." Luwin responded. "Given what we learned, and especially the brawl taking the knife away, it appears that this may completely overturn combat as we know it."

Ned nodded at that, if all violence had been turned into a duel, then the order of society could change drastically. He imagined the Greyjoy Rebellion, and how many died. If he was correct in his interpretation, then the very act of warfare would change. It could go from chaotic battles between large armies, with individual soldiers having no idea what is happening, to more organized single combats.

"Have this information given to everyone, inform other Maesters and lords to see if they can confirm this, and we shall inform the smallfolk what power the Cards have." Ned ordered Maester Luwin. The Maester left with a nod.

Ned entered the dining hall where his family was eating. He explained most of what Luwin had said to them. Theon then spoke up. "Me and Robb were in the Market in Winter Town. Some of the Merchants have cards for sale."

Robb nodded and explained further. "The merchants said these were different from their 'regular' cards, and they appeared with the prices already marked. Individual cards range from a few copper groats to some being worth a few gold dragons. There were little boxes of cards as well, that were only a few copper stars, but the cards were completely random."

With this news, Ned told everyone that they can do whatever they want with the game, so long as they remain safe.

After the meal Ned retired to his room. He removed the disk and examined the cards. By the end of the night he had a working knowledge of dueling. He went to bed, contemplating what kind of madness the gods must suffer from to come up with such a convoluting idea as this.

I do not own either ASOIAF or YU-GI-Oh or any related franchise. They are the property of their respective owners. This disclaimer is meant to cover the entire Fic including all future chapters.

AN: And there is the Prologue to King of Thrones! Hope you enjoy this. Hopefully I can add to this over break and after Finals.

Good luck to all of you in your lives. Hope to see you next chapter.

(PS for A03 readers. I just got this account to spread this story's reader base. I am new at this site, so could someone tell me if its possible to italicize card names?)

Regards, Jaehaerys Joestar.


	2. Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin

AN: Alright, first actual duel and chapter, don't expect much, as no one has had much chance to really change up their decks.

Also, while the Prologue was Ned 3rd person limited, chapters are going to be 3rd person omniscient, so we can hear what other people are thinking during duels.

Let us see how the duel goes.

(Also, since we never see Davos and Stannis interact before Robert died, I'm going to assume Davos calls Stannis My Lord-Stannis is the kind of guy who likes proper grammar).

Dragonstone

Davos

Davos Seaworth stood at the harbor on Dragonstone, watching Stannis return on the Fury from King's Landing. The moment Stannis was on the island stronghold Davos approached him.

"My Lord." Davos greeted.

Stannis nodded in acknowledgement, before beginning to walk to the castle, "I take it the strange cards have made it here as well?"

Davos nodded, "Aye, the Maester said they were everywhere; once the citadel explained the power they possess, we had that information sent to every village and holdfast under Dragonstone." Davos took a breath. "Lady Shireen seems to like it, she keeps asking if I want to duel her." Shireen was more lonely than normal, as before the cards appeared, her mother, the lady Selyse had gone across the narrow sea to see some of the free cities with her Florent relatives. She was not expected to be back for another moon.

Stannis stopped walking and turned to look at him. "I thought you could not read." He points out.

"I could not, and I told the little lady as much, but when I looked at my cards, I could understand the letters. I tried to look at a book but could not make heads nor tails of it. Lady Shireen copied the writing of a card onto some parchment, but while I could read it off of the card, I could not understand the parchment." Davos explained.

Stannis grunted, "That explains how the smallfolk manage to duel." Stannis continued walking while explaining the situation in King's Landing. "Robert loves this new form of combat, it reminds him of war, but without having to have an enemy. After a few days, he actually cut back on wine after he lost a match to the Kingslayer, Ser Jaime. It gives him a chance to use his mind on something he likes. People often forget about my brother's strategic mind, only remembering his great strength."

Davos listened to what was happening in the capital. "And what of the others?"

Stannis let out a sigh, "Cersei refuses to partake in it, saying it is beneath her, and has kept Joffrey from it. Tommen and Myrcella play against each other; when Robert found them he said he would play the winner. He actually spent the rest of the day with them. Pity he can't put such attention on the realm. Jon Arryn is too busy holding the realm together to try it out. The Kingsguard were affected greatly, They can still spar and use their blades, but now they have to master this new combat. Ser Barristan is probably the most affected, he dedicated his life to knighthood and now it is practically useless. Varys refuses to play, saying he is no good, while Littlefinger always loses. Pycelle studies it, but does not take part in it himself. Renly is busy, actually being put to work buying cards for the guards and Gold Cloaks. You hear about the thief?"

"Aye, he won and escaped only to lose the next day."

"I was there. After the duel started the Gold Cloaks came to the Red Keep, I headed back down with them and witnesses both his victory and his immunity, we tried to follow him but lost him in the crowd."

By now they had reached the castle. Stannis brought Davos to the solar and began reviewing any reports that needed his attention as Lord of Dragonstone while continuing to explain the situation of King's Landing.

"There have been some attempted assassinations with dueling, but to our knowledge they have been unsuccessful. Hobber Redwyne got his brother Horas drunk and then challenged him to a friendly duel in the dead of night in a part of the castle far away from curious eyes and ears. Probably saw it as his chance to become the heir, but he was found from the noise of the monsters and while he defeated his brother, no lasting damage occurred. It appears the other person must be aware of their opponent's malice in order for the duel to turn deadly. Now Hobber sits in the dungeon. Other similar stories reached the council, and unfortunately poison still seems to work, Pycelle theorized that it is the individual who drinks the poison, and not the person who put the poison in that is held responsible for the act."

Davos took this information in. "Just like the drunkard in Oldtown, he chose to throw himself in the harbor, just like these victims choose to drink or eat without checking that it is safe."

"It seems so." Stannis agreed. "The problem is that until someone tries to kill in a unique way we won't know if it works or not. Do traps work? What about a crossbow fired into a crowd at random? We simply do not know what will happen." Stannis explained. "On the other hand, criminals who were already sentenced to death, but that Ser Ilyn had not executed yet were not under the protection of dueling, so they have been taken care of."

After signing a few documents and summoning the steward to see them delivered, Stannis turned to Davos. "For the time being, we must be prepared for everything. Soldiers and sailors are adding dueling practice to their routine while still training with traditional weaponry. It appears I should do the same."

Davos stood up straight. "My Lord, you wish to practice now?"

"Aye" Stannis replied. "Do you accept?"

Davos brought forth his Duel Disk with his deck in the holder. "Very well."

Stannis summoned his own and put his deck in it. They walked into the training ground, which was currently empty. "Let us begin." he said.

DUEL BEGIN

"You may have the first move, Ser Davos." Stannis said as they drew their hands.

"My thanks, My Lord." Davos replied as he looked at his hand.

"First I summon Masaki the legendary Swordsman." A warrior wearing strange green armor appeared between Stannis and Davos. Its hands ready to pull out a blade thinner than a traditional Westerosi blade, but thicker than the blade of a water dancer. It had 1100 ATK. "Next I play 2 cards face down, and end my turn." Davos finished.

"My move then." Stannis said as he drew. "First I will summon Cyber Falcon to the field in attack mode." A strange falcon suddenly appeared and flew in place by Stannis, It seemed to be made entirely of metal. It had 1400 ATK. "Next I play this spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon. And I use it to remove the face down card on the left." Davos' facedown came up to reveal Waboku and was shattered by the winds. "Now Cyber Falcon attacks Masaki." Masaki drew his sword and struck at Cyber Falcon, only for his sword to break against the metal bird and Masaki got his throat cut from Cyber Falcon's claws. Davos' life points fell to 3700.

"I end my turn." Stannis declared.

"Very well My Lord." Davos drew a card. "I activate Cup of Ace, now we flip a coin, if its heads, I draw two cards, tails, you draw two." A coin appeared on the field and flew into the air, when it landed it was tails, and Stannis grabbed the two cards on the top of his deck.

"In that case, I summon Uraby." A giant black beast emerged on the field. It looked somewhat dragon like with black scales, but it lacked wings and had arms instead of front legsl. "Uraby, attack Cyber Falcon." Uraby charged forward, Cyber Falcon attempted to fly upwards to escape only to be caught in Uraby's mouth. Stannis' life points fell to 3900. "With that, I end my turn." Davos said.

"My turn then." Stannis said as he drew a card. Due to the coin toss he held seven in his hand now. 'Unfortunately, none of the monsters here can take down such a beast, at least not by attacking.' Stannis grabbed two cards. "First I play one card face down and then set this monster in defence and end my turn" Two cards materialized on the field.

"My move." Davos drew, he was in a bit of a tough spot, as he only had two cards in his hand at the moment, and neither were monsters. "I attack your monster with Uraby." Uraby ate the card whole, only for his throat to be pierced from the inside and a man size brown bug with large claws crawls out. Both monsters succumb to their injuries.

"That was my Man-Eater Bug, which can destroy any monster when it is flipped face up." Stannis explained.

"I end my turn." Davos declares.

"My move." Stannis drew, now having six cards. "It's not much but I summon M-warrior #1" A man with blue skin and a yellow helmet with broken off pieces on one side came to the field holding a green lance. "Now I attack" Stannis declared.

"I activate my spell card, Scapegoat" Davos declared, revealing the card Stannis did not destroy. "Now I get these four Scapegoats to protect my life points." the four Scapegoats appeared on the field only for the blue one to immediately take the hit and be destroyed.

"In that case I end my turn." Stannis said.

"I draw," Davos declared and then looked at the card. It was just what he needed. "I activate Card of Sanctity!" he played the spell card. "Now we both draw until we have six cards in our hand." Stannis drew one card and Davos drew four. (AN: As you can guess, I am using the anime version of this card because the Real life one is ridiculous in comparison). Davos looked at his hand and saw two of his best cards. He looked at the field and worried about Stannis' face down. Luckily he had a way to deal with it, but he would have hopes it would be more effective than it would be. "I play Giant Trunade to return your Face Down to your hand." Stannis removed his Trap Hole from the field and put it in his hand. "Next I summon Archfiend Soldier." A purple skinned man with curved horns, bone like armor with spikes, and a cape appeared on the field with a sword drawn. While not the strongest card in Davos' deck-that would be Zoa, it was the strongest that he could summon without making a tribute. "And now, I equip him with United We Stand which increases his ATK and DEF by 800 for every monster I have, and I have four including himself." Archfiend Soldier's sword grew sharper as his ATK went from 1900 to 5100. "Now he attacks your M-Warrior!" M-Warrior tried to block the attack with his lance, only to have Archfiend's blade cut of his arm before he could life it and then gut him with a second swing.

Stannis was pushed back by the blow but remained standing. Unfortunately his life points could not say the same as the mighty strike brought him down to 0. Archfiend and the Scapegoats disappearing as the duel ended.

"You did well My Lord." Davos told Stannis. "Had I placed my two cards in the opposite order, you would have defeated me before I could draw those cards."

"Do not dismiss your own power so readily Ser Davos. The fact of the matter is that you won." Stannis pointed out. Suddenly both heard clapping. They turn to see Shireen and Maester Cressen.

"Father, you were wonderful!" Shireen said as she ran up and hugged him. "And Ser Onion Knight, that was amazing."

"Yes, I must say that was an interesting duel." Cressen said as he walked over.

"Yes, well we must get used to this new order if we are to live in such a world." Stannis told them. "For better or worse, the world has changed, and we must learn to adapt if we wish to live. Who knows what fate or the gods have in store.

Pyke

"We take what we want, this just makes it easier." A former king spoke to his captains and family.

The Reach

"Mace you fool, just admit that Willas has you beat. You still have work to do." An old woman who could have been a queen, but had still earned the title told her son. "On second thought, never mind, you'll just mess it up. Margaery dear, finish off your idiot brother so you can help me."

Dorne

A prince stared at the duels his daughters were having between each other and their cousins, while his brother helped him forge the best deck they could. "Soon Ellia, you will be avenged."

Westerlands

A dutiful brother escorted the merchants to meet the head of the Pride. "Brother, these are the ones with the most expensive cards in Lannisport." The old lion stared them down. "Show me what you have." Meanwhile a smaller lion was beating the guards and his cousins for fun.

Pentos

"Soon sister" A false king who thought himself true spoke to his last known kin. "I will burn the Usurper in dragon fire, just as he deserves." He then laughed as he imagined the screams of the man who stole everything from him.

"Patience your Grace." A fat man said to calm him down. "You may become a skilled duelist, but we still need allies, else all it would take is one bad hand and you could fail before you have your vengeance."

King's Landing

"I never thought I'd be coming to one of these places again." A man said while holding a seven year old with his right hand, and an eight year old in his left, while surrounded by four knights as they walk down the Street of Steel. "But with these new cards, its best to buy them yourself instead of commanding a servant to get some." They found a place with cards on display, but the sound of a blacksmith working in the back.

"Welcome…." A boy with black hair and blue eyes says before seeing the crown and fine clothes. The king looks just as shocked, but the kids nudge him out of it.

Riverlands

"Alright" A trout said as he stood witness between two lords. "This duel is meant to settle all past conflicts between your houses. Despite this, no killing each other is this clear?" The two lords both yelled "Aye."

"Then the duel begins. Lord Blackwood won the coin toss so he goes first."

Stormlands

A woman surrounded by Sapphire blue water made her deck. When she was done, she went to the yard to practice with the sword, she still was not giving up on her dream, even if she needed to do more to achieve it.

Vale

"Right then, you can pay me in silver or cards, which will it be?" A woman with black hair and blue eyes said as she prepared to lead merchants through a mountain path. Meanwhile the nobles were showing off who got the rarest or most expensive card, as a matter of pride.

North of Wall

A freefolk was thrown back as his Life Points hit 0. "I ain't gonna sleep with ya." the Red haired girl yelled at him.

Elsewhere a wolf who left his pack was checking on a village that was trying to trade with the Watch. They showed him some cards they would give to show they were serious.

Far away a bird stuck in a tree watched duels across the world. "I did not see this coming" he complained to the children who cared for him.

Winterfell

"Huh" A fake bastard said as he looked through his deck. 'Why is this card so different from the rest?' Putting it aside for now he picked some cards from his deck and handed them over to Bran, as had Robb and Theon. Now Arya had enough cards to hide a secret deck now that Lady Catelyn took her real one away so she would focus on her lessons. She could not use her disk, but if she were quiet she could sneak off to Bran or someone's room and dueled without the disk.

AN: And there is the first duel of the series. Ended it quickly mainly because I tried to write this going only off of my memory. Think I will do more to remember cards for future duels. May make some Original cards later on as well.

We also got to look at some of the events of each area. While some are major characters, others are just because at this point few characters are currently there.

With this, the game has officially begun.

Please feel free to review, any honest feedback can always be helpful.

Good luck to you all in all your endeavors. Hope to see you all next chapter.

Jaehaerys Joestar.


	3. Chapter 2: Forced, Lonely, and Angry

AN: I have no clue on a definitive schedule, I tend to post these relatively quick after finishing them, hopefully once winter break starts up, I can do several chapters at once and then release them on a regular basis. On the bright side I started coming up with definitive decks for characters. I will end each chapter with a brief summary of someone who either appeared or will appear in the next chapter.

Here is the newest chapter for King of Thrones

THE REACH-HORN HILL

Samwell

"Sword Hunter, Attack Sam's Aqua Madoor!" The Swordsman covered in more blades than he could use eviscerated Sam's defence mode monster. After which it picked up their mask which turned into another sword, adding to his collection. "And with that his Power raises again to 2850. I end my turn." Dickon said to his older brother.

Sam drew a card to begin his turn. While stronger than anything he had available, Dickon only seemed to rely on raw power, filling his deck with warriors and ways to increase their own power. Sam should know, having given Dickon such cards in trades to build their decks. Such a strategy was less effective when your opponent had cards that were meant for combinations. "My move, and I summon Mystical Elf, In attack mode." A beautiful woman wearing a green dress and having blue skin appeared before Sam. "Next I equip her with Book of Secret Arts, raising her attack to 1100."

"So, what Sam? My monster is almost three times as high." Dickon pointed out this strange blunder of a move. While it was true that Sam was winning in terms of Life Points at 3500 to Dickon's 950, it seemed like a suicidal move.

"Next I activate the equip spell Pestilence and equip it to your Sword Hunter." Suddenly Sword Hunter began to cough as a purple fog with a face floated behind him. He fell to his knees, and his Attack became 0.

"Now, since your hand is empty and the only cards in your spell and trap zone are my monsters, I will have Mystical Elf attack and end this duel." Mystical Elf brought her hands together and a white light enveloped the ill Sword Hunter, destroying him and reducing Dickon's LP to 0.

"Damn, I thought I had you for once." Dickon complained. He had yet to beat Sam even once; the closest being their first duel.

Dickon may only be eleven but had filled his deck with the warriors and soldiers his father had worked to mold him into. Sam on the other hand, filled his deck with Spellcasters and support magic and traps. Between the cards that Dickon and their sisters had to start with, as well as what was available, Sam had enough cards to build an entire deck around his Spellcasters.

'Probably the closest I will get to being a wizard.' Sam thought about his childhood dream.

Dickon walked off to the training grounds. Their father may have been forced to accept dueling, but that was no excuse for Dickon not to become a warrior. Sam walked off to the library to read.

The library of Horn Hill had fallen into disrepair, as Sam's father Randyll Tarly refused to spend more than the bare minimum to maintain it, and only then because the Maester had to point out other nobles could visit and if they saw that he had let it fall into ruin, it would hurt his reputation.

Luckily the previous generations of Tarly men had a better appreciation of knowledge; though admittedly more than half of it was about war strategies and how to use or counter them. It was from reading these that Sam kept his mind sharp. He had figured that he would come up with the strategies and his brother would lead the troops. After an hour or two of reading Sam left the library only to run into his father in the halls.

"Samwell, come to my solar." Randyll ordered his eldest son with barely restrained hatred. Sam had gotten used to that tone, but it still caused him to fear what his father would do to him.

After they reached the Solar, Randyll locked the door. He liked being sure of his privacy. He had closed off Horn Hill to most outsiders who came for long term stays, hoping to keep Lord Varys, the Spider from ever getting his spies into Horn Hill.

Sam grew a bit nervous. This was their first one on one talk since dueling had come to the world. With the news that it was a new form of combat, Randyll begrudgingly accepted it, though he forbade his daughters from dueling, saying it was wrong for them as women to be fighting in any way. It was him filling his deck with warriors that had led to Dickon doing the same. Randyll had also watched several of Sam's duels with Dickon; but never spoke of them. Sam could guess that it angered him that his favored child was losing to his least loved.

"I was going to wait until your next Nameday to tell you this, but with these new duels I see I cannot wait any longer." Randyll turned to Sam; hatred naked enough that one would mistake them for mortal enemies instead of father and son. "You are not worthy of my lands and titles. You are a weak, fat and pathetic boy. The thought of you replacing me is enough to turn my stomach. I would prefer your sisters being my heir, as at least when our house falls everyone will know it was because they were women. But you, when you fail, we will be made a mockery. So, I will give you a choice." Randyll pulled out a deck. "You can surrender your claim to the family lands and titles, or we will have a duel."

Sam was shocked by this. He knew his father hated him, but to see his recent success be seen as an insult to his father was unexpected. And now his father had challenged him to a duel, but he knew his father well enough. "This duel; it would be dangerous, would it not?" He said getting a sense for what his father was saying.

"Aye" His father replied. "We both know of my hatred and contempt for you; if we duel, it will end in one of us dying."

"No one is more hated than a Kinslayer." Sam pointed out to his father, hoping to bring him back to his senses.

"True, but only you would be a Kinslayer." Randyll said. He drew some cards from his deck and showed them to Sam. "I made this one especially for you."

Sam looked at the cards; they were all beasts that looked like animals, and the spells and traps, they were counters for all the tricks he had used on Dickon. It was a deck made for the sole purpose of beating him.

"It took a while, finding all of these cards, having servants buy them for me piece by piece. Once you are gone, I will gift them to other nobles, no one will know of this deck's existence. I told your mother that I would try to bond with you more; either through a father and son hunt or duel. If you lose, I will tell her that you came across a pack of animals, I tried to protect you but they ripped you apart. I already have hunters out getting game to show I killed some. I will also cut myself with their claws and teeth to feign my injuries.

"On the other hand, should you win, I will die. We are in a locked room, and some loyal servants saw you enter with me. If you walk out with me lying dead, everyone will know you are a Kinslayer. A son who lacked his father's favor, and so killed him to maintain his inheritance. You would not be the first. I also sent notes to Lord Tyrell-the fool and the King. Mace always asks how I am doing. I wrote about how the cards had brought us closer together now, and how we were going to have our first match against each other soon. They will think you planned it, so if you go to either to claim your innocence, they will see that you are lying."

"So, my SON… What is your choice? Will you die or become a Kinslayer, or shall I send you out of my sight forever?"

Sam reeled from all of this information. His father had been thorough, and there was no move Sam could make that would stop his father.

"If I am not to be your heir, what shall I do?" Sam asked. When he had previously asked about becoming a Maester, Randyll had chained him up in the dungeon for three days. He doubted his father would leave that option for him.

"The Night's Watch. Perhaps the cold and lack of food will be able to make you at least look the part of a man; instead of the womanly craven you are." His father responded in a voice that showed he would accept no other option.

NEXT DAY

He had said goodbye to his mother and siblings. He had spun a lie about how he wanted to see what books they had preserved in their ancient history, and how Dickon would be a much better lord than him. He would be accompanied to the edge of House Tarly territory by soldiers in order to make sure he left.

His father had provided him with the horse and a bag of silvers. It could get him to the wall if he spent it sparingly. He doubted his father would care if he died on the journey to bandits or the like.

Sam reflected what he knew about people's opinions on the Night's Watch. He supposed he would not reach any true hospitality until he made it at least to the Neck.

He looked at a village they were skirting around and saw the duels taking place. 'Well, there is a silver lining-perhaps I will get to duel more.' The thought was a comfort to Sam. Perhaps he would see new cards. The Watch was made from people from all over the Seven Kingdoms. But then he realized that any non-criminals on the wall would likely have given their best cards to their friends or family before leaving.

With nothing to do but move forward; Sam looked at his final gift from home-a card his mother had gotten for his name day. A card he had been searching for, as his deck mainly centered around it, yet he could not find it. After the guards left, he looked at it and spoke. "Well Dark Magician, let's see what the future has in store."

THE NORTH-WINTERFELL

Jon

Jon Snow watched from a window as his family played out on the training ground. Robb and Theon were having a go at it, while his father Lord Stark was duelling Bran. Arya was busy with Septa Mordane and Sansa and Lady Stark, which left Jon alone with his cards.

He still could not figure out this one card in his deck, yet at the same time could not remove it from his deck all the same. He felt a connection to the card; though he had no idea why.

Turning back to his family, Jon thought about how he had grown up with Robb. How they had both greeted each new sibling, and even Theon when he had first arrived. Yet, he knew that outside of his younger siblings and some servants such as Old Nan and the Cassels, the only reason he had not been turned away was because of Robb and Ned. Had he done pranks by himself without Robb, he would have been scolded more, had Ned not been his father, he likely would never have even had anyone to care for him. As much as he loved his family, it was hard not to see himself as the lone wolf the pack would be better without. He would not be a stain on his father's honour, and if he was not there, then perhaps Robb would have had other noble children to play with, just as Ned had been with King Robert in the Vale.

'Will I ever be able to repay House Stark?' he wondered to himself. He knew he would do whatever he could to try. It was in part why he wanted to join the Night's Watch, as it would bring honor to the family for him to rise high, and that felt like the only place he could.

He wanted more than anything to BE a Stark. Unfortunately, Lady Catelyn would never allow it. She was too afraid that he would do something to overthrow Robb. As if he could. He would sooner kill himself than harm any of his siblings. Even if he did, the North would never stand for it.

He looked down on Robb finishing off Theon as the two laughed about it. While he and Robb were brothers who were raised together, Theon had grown closer to Robb than to Jon. He felt like an unnecessary part when the three were together.

'Will I ever have a friend like that? Like Theon to Robb, or the King to Father?' Jon thought as he turned away from the window.

WESTERLANDS-CASTERLY ROCK

Tywin

Tywin Watched as Tyrion departed for King's Landing. He would be going to in part to visit his brother and niece and nephews, and in part to report back to Tywin about the going ons of King's Landing. Pycelle may send him messages about such things regularly, but he had a tendency to assume anything Cersei did was part of Tywin's plans. He lost track of how often he had to act fast to undo Cersei's mistakes. Cersei did possess above average intellect, but by growing up as Tywin worked to restore the Lannister's name, she had come to believe that the Lannisters were the best for everything. When new positions on the Small Council opened up, she was always suggesting one of her uncles or cousins fill the spot. The latest was when Stannis left to attend to his duties on Dragonstone, and she recommended her uncle Steffon become Master of Ships. When he had heard of that; Tywin's mind immediately went to how Steffon loathed boats and always got seasick from travel longer than a river crossing.

Tywin was thankful that Robert saw fit to ignore her. There was such a thing as picking the right person for the position. Had Cersei picked a Lannister ill fitted for the role, then the shame would be worse than any possible gain from putting them there in the first place.

And then there was her stunting Joffrey's growth. She coddled him too much. It was to be expected to some extent. Tywin remembered his own Mother always fretting over him. He also remembered Queen Betha Blackwood worrying over both Jaehaerys and Aerys when he was sent to court. She had also been like another mother to him as well; hearing of her death at Summerhall being one of the few times in his adulthood that he found tears running down his cheeks.

He knew how Mothers could be about their children. Yet somehow, Cersei managed to fail at even THAT. By all accounts, Joffrey-who logically should have been sheltered and soft based on how Cersei treated him, was instead sheltered and CRUEL; which was even worse. If he was soft, then he would at least have some people who would defend him. Even if it was just so they could continue to exploit him. But a cruel king would unite the kingdoms in revolt. There was a reason the Tyrells kept siege on Storm's End after the Battle of the Trident, instead of rushing to defend the king they were sworn to obey. Without Rhaegar as a beacon that Aerys would one day be replaced; many lords had withdrawn their support in secret, so as to not anger the rebellion that would win, as well as not be labelled an opportunistic turncloak by those who had been in the rebellion longer.

If Joffrey did not shape up while Robert was still alive, then he would start another revolt. House Lannister may be the most powerful of all the houses; but the Westerlands could not defeat the other kingdoms with only the Crownlands for support. Cersei had even brought up the idea that only another Lannister was worthy of Joffrey's love. If that happened, then they would not be able to rely on any other kingdoms helping if even for their own self-interest.

Meanwhile Tommen and Myrcella- whom Cersei had essentially abandoned to the Septa and Maester had managed to grow to be regular children. Tommen may be a bit too soft for Tywin's preference, but he was only seven. There was plenty of time for him to grow. With Robert recently bonding with him and Myrcella, Tywin had no doubt Robert would start to guide his children more.

Tywin returned to his solar where the Maester greeted him with a letter from Cersei. Sighing he dismissed the Maester and began to read it. It was all the same complaints.

Robert spends all his time playing games instead of ruling - 'Better that than dishonoring you with whores like before'

These cards are dangerous; you need to regain your rightful place as Hand and make them illegal - 'Even if I agreed to do so we would face so much resistance that a rebellion would be inevitable. Also, the cards have by all accounts made people safer so far, if the tales of regular villages being able to defend against bandits is anything to go by.'

Some visiting nobles had the audacity to try to attack Joffrey with their cards when he said how foolish they were - 'A prince should not be antagonizing his future subjects in the first place. As long as they do their duty and are competent let them do as they please.'  
Joffrey is the only one who sees reason in how this nonsense is just that and ignores it- 'He had better learn how to play if he hopes to become respected. If any random small-folk is able to defeat the future king, then he will become the laughing stock of Westeros.'

By the time he was done reading Tywin was thankful that he did not keep any wine in his solar.

Suddenly he heard a knock on the door. "Enter" He commanded. Kevan walked in. In his hands were two small wooden boxes. He approached the desk and gave them to Tywin.

Tywin almost let out a smirk. Kevan was the only person Tywin had dueled so far. They had used the abandoned first gold mine that had been responsible for the creation of Casterly Rock. It was empty but stood as a reminder of where their power came from and a warning that it was not infinite. Tywin had had multiple Maesters make estimates on how much gold was likely left under the Lannisters. Luckily the worst estimate was another 5 centuries worth- and that was if Tywin were to actually make an effort to excavate all the gold until none was left. At the rate the Westerlands was going, they would easily last another few millennia.

By using the mine Tywin had kept his deck a secret from everyone else. This allowed him to come up with strategies without risk of someone being prepared to counter them. Ever since Tywin had bought several of the more expensive cards, he had been carefully crafting his deck. The only things the contents of the boxes could be were cards he had set Kevan out to search for while he did some business with their vassals.

Tywin opened the first box and saw the cards inside: Defense Draw. Two copies of it.

"This was not the card I ordered you to retrieve." Tywin pointed out to his younger brother.

"No, but it was a card I was lucky to stumble across. And they fit into the type of deck you are building."

Tywin was willing to concede that. He had several low-level high defense monsters. For someone to get past them and inflict damage on him; only to have the damage negated and the chance to draw another card that brought him one step closer to victory would be a boon. He then opened the other box. This time he let his smile. Inside it was the card he had asked for. He would not say he was now invincible; but anyone who thought to challenge the Lion of Casterly Rock had their work cut out for them.

AN: and we are done with Chapter 2 of King of Thrones. Started out with just Sam and Jon but decided to throw Tywin in to help lengthen it out.

Randyll Tarly thinks he got rid of Varys' spies. Varys gets a good laugh out of that.

His plan would never have worked, but Sam neither knows that nor wishes for his father's death, so he went willingly.

Jon reflects on how he feels like a third wheel to Robb and Theon. Don't worry about that Jon. Your non-blood brother is on his way!

Tywin reflects on Cersei's idiocy and failures as well as Joffrey's instability. And he completes his deck. Tywin Lannister will never settle for second best and his cards will reflect this. Defense Draw being one that I often use in Duel Links that has gotten me out of tough duels.

Next time we shall travel across the Narrow Sea and see what is going on in Essos. (Hint: The Bravosi are laughing at Slaver's Bay's expense) and I will leave you guys off with a quick description of Viserys' deck: Dragons. Literally. The only non-dragon monster he has is the spellcaster Lord of D. Make no mistake though, he is more of a threat here than in Canon. There, he was woefully out of his depth as a warrior. Here, he has had as much time to train as anyone else has.

Please feel free to review, any honest feedback can always be helpful.

Good luck to you all in all your endeavors. Hope to see you all next chapter.

Jaehaerys Joestar.


	4. Chapter 3: Stag's Justice, Dragon's Vengeance

AN: New Chapter is ready to go.

In regards to any strange spellings-I do this in Google Drive, then turn it into a Word doc, then put it on here, and each one says some spelling from the last one is incorrect, so I am just going to stop changing those before posting.

I have also made definitive decks for the following characters: Tywin, Jon, Viserys, Sam, Edmure, Robert, Balon.

Now we shall leave Westeros for a bit in order to see what is happening in Essos.

But first a return to the capital.

CROWNLANDS-KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP

ROBERT

Robert walked into the Small Council room for the first time in what felt like ages. Thinking back, it was not since the Ironborn rebellion that he had stayed focused on a council meeting. Soon the other lords gathered and took their seats on the council table. Jon sat on Robert's right, with Renly and Varys filling out that half of the table. Stannis, Pycelle and Baelish filled the left half. Ser Barristan stood ready to protect the King, but was still able to add to their discussions.

"Alright, is there any urgent news that takes precedent?" He asked mainly looking at Jon.

"Not any that are truly urgent, but they all will have to be dealt with relatively soon Your Grace." Jon responded.

Robert nodded, "Alright then Renly, what have you to say regarding the Gold Cloaks?" He asked his youngest brother.

Renly sighed and seemed a bit tired. "Well the good news is they have all been outfitted with an official Gold Cloak deck, in addition to their own personal one. When one Gold Cloak retires at the end of his shift, he gives the official deck to his commander, who passes it along to whoever is replacing him. Their official decks are filled with cards that inflict damage or keep the criminals from acting, so as to minimize their risk of losing."

"It was not cheap let me tell you." Littlefinger chimed in. "A good amount of our immediate liquid funding went into it. I would say the whole thing cost roughly 500 Gold Dragons, though most of it was paid in Coppers and Silvers. Can't let any old guard have a deck that could defeat his lords."

"It can't be helped." Robert responded. "If I must choose between the city falling into chaos, or us having to tighten our belts a bit, then the choice is obvious." The irony of that statement was not lost on Robert, but he had recently started to head to the training grounds more often. Usually with Tommen, showing him the ropes. He hoped to one day get back to what he was.

Turning to Littlefinger he decided to attend to the money issue as soon as he could. "What ideas do you have to get this money back? Besides just taxing the merchants who sell the cards." He said feeling he knew what Baelish would suggest.

Baelish took a moment to think, "Well they are where most of the money is going, but if not them, then we may have to raise the tax on bread or fish. Raise it a few coppers and we will regain the money in a few months."

Stannis however had other thoughts. "We are not raising the tax on food. We are not going to starve our own people." Robert winced a bit at that statement. Stannis had gotten more stubborn on the subject of food availability since the Rebellion, which he spent most of starving in Storm's End.

"I agree with Stannis, besides such taxes will take too long." Robert felt a sense of familiarity regarding this issue, and after a moment he realized a solution.

"We shall do as Jaehaerys I did. A tax on luxury items nobles and wealthy merchants enjoy. Especially foreign goods. Either we get more money back quicker, or prices fall as the lords refuse to pay and we get the money when the lords pay the lesser prices."

Stannis turned to look at his brother. "What made you think of the Wise King?"

Robert got a grin on his face, "I was talking with Tommen about his lessons and he mentioned that was how Jaehaerys dealt with it. He said no lord was forced to pay a groat more than they had to for things they needed, but wanting was another story."

After that they spent some time deciding on what specific goods would be taxed and by how much, before tabling the issue for now and moving on to the next issue.

Stannis covered the state of the seas. "Some Stepstone pirates began to approach Dorne and the Stormlands. They have been driven off fairly quickly but it was still worth mentioning. I recommend informing Lord Redwyne to deploy his ships around the southern sea, while the royal fleet moves to join in. Hopefully it will dissuade them from trying anything."

Robert nodded in agreement. "See it done. Perhaps it will give lord Redwyne something else to think about." The actions of his younger son had apparently destroyed Paxter Redwyne. According to Varys he had aged ten years in a single moon and was on a downward path. Horas had returned home while Hobar remained in the dungeon. It had apparently caused a scandal to break out in the Reach.

Moving on to Varys' reports there was some new information. "Lord Tarly has strongarmed his eldest son and heir to take the black in favor of his brother. Lord Manderly was adding a tax on the fishermen as a compromise between getting a good haul and allowing the fish to repopulate for the year. Also, Prince Oberyn was preparing a trip to Essos, over rumors that another bastard of his was there." Varys informed them of the biggest news. The rest were trifling matters, such as talks of marriage, which lords were fighting over old borders, and how the Essosi were handling their affairs. Unfortunately even Varys' birds could only fly so fast, so the farthest east he had gotten was Norvos. With most of the matter settled or evaluated, the council meeting eventually came to an end. The lords left one by one to attend their other duties or relax depending on their character. Varys was the last one out only to be stopped by Ser Jaime, who had been guarding the outside. Ser Barristan and Robert approached him.

"Varys, you know this castle and its secrets better than anyone. Is that not so?" Robert asked.

Varys' looked surprised by this unexpected meeting. "Yes Your Grace, I do."

Robert looked at Ser Barristan, "Which Kingsguards are where?"

Barristan took a moment to think. "Ser Mandon is guarding the Queen, Ser Boros and Arys are with young Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella, Ser Greenfield is guarding the drawbridge of Maegor's Holdfast and Ser Meryn should be just finishing guarding Prince Joffrey while Sandor Clegane takes over." As much as Ser Barristan disliked a non kingsguard protecting the prince, none of them were exactly jumping to volunteer either.

Robert listened and looked relieved when he heard that. "Good, now then the three of us will follow Varys' as he leads us to a tunnel or room near the maids corridor." He commanded. Jaime and Ser Barristan shared a look but followed Varys as the King commanded. They were led behind a tapestry into a tunnel. Eventually they reached a room with a window but no door except through more of the tunnel, and a small hole into the halls of the maid's quarters.

The red keep employed some small-folk for the actual cleaning, and they largely lived in the city itself. The maid's quarters were reserved for ladies of minor nobility or daughters of knights who were essentially handmaids for the Queen and Princesses' handmaids. Those of some nobility but nor enough to justify being with royal ladies.

"Alright now, we wait here, if anyone tries to get in, we will see them. I already had Myrcella invite most of her ladies to spend time with her, so the halls should be mostly empty."

The others waited along with their king. Varys seemed to have an idea of what was going on but was not sharing with the Kingsguard. It seemed as if they had been in their for an hour, when they heard the unmistakable sound of someone walking down the hall.

"Is that…" Jaime muttered when the person came into view. He entered a room and Robert and the others rushed into the tunnel and into the hall and burst through the door. There they found Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard holding a girl, no older than 5-probably the sister of a maid-and pinning her to the wall.

He turned around in shock at the sight of the four men.

"Its over Trant. Drop the girl and surrender." Robert's voice boomed. Trant let go of the girl and she ran towards the four men, and Ser Barristan put himself between her and Trant.

"Varys! Grab the girl and get some guards in here. He can't leave with the three of us here." Varys did so and soon guards rushed into the room. Realizing that he could not defeat so many opponents alone, Meryn Trant surrendered. As he had given up, no duel began when Jaime went up to him after he was in chains and punched him in the face. "You were guarding my-my niece." Jaime said, voice hard with rage.

After he was sent to join Hobar in the dungeon for know Robert explained to the men what had led to this.

"Myrcella told me that the maids talked about him and his proclivities. They had tried to tell their families, but the fact that he was a kingsguard preying on those who barely qualify for nobility meant none thought they could accuse him. When Myrcella brought it up to her Septa, she told her it was likely the girls were lying to get her in trouble, but she still decided to take the risk while we were alone. We came up with that plan, I had thought the quarters were empty, but it seems two sisters had a fight and the younger one was forbidden from going with the Princess. I thought we would just corner him in a place he had no reason to be."

"Their families may have been right." Ser Barristan spoke. "I served with Trant for eight years, and I had no idea. Had someone accused him I probably would have defended my brother."

Varys spoke up. "I had heard rumors of course, but had assumed he was without victim as he would not risk the noble women, and he did frequent a brothel. I had thought he was making due with older women."

Robert nodded, "I don't think anyone of us saw it coming. Investigate the brothel. If they did satisfy his needs they will be stopped."

Jaime spoke up. "So what shall we do with him?" Anger still clear in his voice.

Robert sighed, "We may have outnumbered him in the moment of his arrest, but he could still declare a Trial by Combat. There he would only have to win once and be seen as innocent. Regardless, he is losing that White Cloak."

"I volunteer." Barristan and Jaime said simultaneously.

"Unfortunately, neither of you will not be facing him." Robert spoke with authority. "I was the one who chose him for the Kingsguard, I shall be his opponent if he claims innocence." He stared at his deck and the top card: Perfect Machine King, which he had bought from the blacksmith Varys had confirmed was his bastard.

ESSOS-PENTOS

VISERYS

Viserys Targaeryn was sitting and changing out his cards in his deck. He got rid of Battle Warrior and replaced it with the trap card Coffin Seller. While he was doing so Illyrio was moaning to him about how their plans were ruined.

Khal Drogo was dead, or if not then he would be soon. After the cards had appeared, the Lhazareen people whom the Dothraki preyed upon for slaves and supplies had realized they could finally fight back. It was not much at first; as Khalasars were larger than any one village. But over several moons and some help from the Free Cities who wished to be rid of the Dothraki, the tide had turned. Khal Drogo's Khalasar had been on their way to Pentos, only for a Braavosi sell-sword-now claiming to be sell-decks- company to cut them off. Their last news had the Khalasar broken into a dozen pieces, scattering to the wind. Vaes Dothrak laid abandoned after a surprise night strike from the Lhazareen and the foreign traders took out most of the drunken Khals their and the Dosh Khaleen who refused to abandon the Dothraki ways.

Illyrio had promised him forty thousand Dothraki Screamers, only for the Dothraki to all but cease to exist. And then there was Illyrio's own misfortune as well. One need only hear of the events in Slaver's Bay.

Slaver's Bay had quite the interesting population. For every Freeman, there were between five and ten Slaves depending on the city. Astapor, famous for its Unsullied slave soldiers, held out the longest, as the Unsullied were unable to challenge the Good Masters. Until a young slave managed to kill her Master in a duel, then claimed ownership of the Unsullied. She commanded them to sneak into the ranks of their fellow Unsullied and challenge the Masters to duels. Then she took ownership of their Unsullied. Now the former slaves had been freed, and the Unsullied chose to follow their new Savior Missandei.

'The girl is the same age I was when I lost everything, and now she is treated as a Queen.' Despite this Missandei was not herself a ruler; at least for now. Word was that she left most of the decision making to slaves who had served as scribes and assistants to the Masters. They had enough experience to not run the city into the ground, at least for now. But the slave trade and Unsullied training had come to an end, with those responsible put to death. Yunkai had been the first to fall, but without a single unifying force to rally behind, it had fallen into complete chaos. Now the only people left in the city were the dead, sick and vultures who lived off of the remains.

Finally Mereen had reached a sort of middle ground. Some of the more benevolent Masters had seen the writing on the wall and led their slaves to free the others. For now some man who was known as the Shavepate was the closest the city had to a single leader, though he was but one member of a council.

The destruction of Slaver's Bay, along with the fall of the Dothraki, would mean an end to the slave trade. Perhaps not immediately, but if Viserys lived to reach 80 he doubted anyone would still be in bondage at that point. The initial impact was already visible in the Free Cities, Braavos was the least affected, but it still took some loses just from the business loses former slavers presented. Though from all accounts it seemed that even the Iron Bank was more than happy to not have its due in this case.

The other free cities were another story. Each had had a slave revolt to some extent, but none had fallen as bad as Slaver's Bay; except for Volantis. Those who prided themselves as the last true remnant of Valyria had found themselves ripped apart by their slave's new monsters. Not that Viserys had minded that particular news. Hearing the Volantenes insult his bloodline for being infected by the First men from his parent's grandmother Betha Blackwood had hardened Viserys' heart against those who were his distant kin.

As for the remaining cities, the ruling people had maintained power, but at a cost. Concessions had to be made to many slaves, turning them into apprentices and giving them wages for their previous labor. Illyrio and many Magisters had taken huge loses, but Illyrio had been too tied to the slave trade. He was less likely to maintain power or regain his wealth.

It had become apparent to Viserys what Illyrio would gain from helping him kill the Usurper. Illyrio expected to be made a lord on the small council, and use his influence to bring Slavery to Westeros. Viserys had known that would never work, to try so would only lead to him being deposed right after he regains the throne. But he made sure to apply enough lip service that Illyrio still supported them. He had grown used to slaves after spending so much time on the run from city to city, but he knew the lords would look down on anything he did to help slavers.

It was after the Dothraki ceased to be a viable ally that Illyrio revealed a truly surprising piece of information: Viserys had been engaged for years. Arianne Martell would be his queen through the actions of Ser Willem Darry and Prince Oberyn Martell. When he first heard he had wanted to go to Dorne right away. But he knew it was not enough. Dorne could not defeat the other kingdoms by itself. The only advantage the Dornish had was their Desert. Viserys knew history well, especially that of his own family. Without the desert to sneak into, Dorne had never managed to make long term gains against the other kingdoms. Jaehaerys I had completely destroyed their invading force in a single battle, without losing a life on his end.

So, as it stood now, the strength of House Targaryean was the King, the Princess of Dragonstone, a man teetering on the brink of wealth and poverty, and the kingdom with the least offensive capabilities.

Viserys removed his Fake Trap and replaced it with Divine Dragon Ragnarok.

Illyrio had finished his complaining and had moved on to where other possible allies could be found. Specifically-through Daenerys. They needed all of the allies they could get in order to win. The only option that had not been exhausted was her hand. If they were to find any new allies, it would be through her.

If there was one bright spot it was her. Since the cards appearance they had of course practiced against each other. She had smiled like she had not since they were with Ser Willem. It had been nice to see that side of her return.

After spending an hour bringing up houses who may defect it given Dany's hand-and each suggestion being shot down for one reason or another. Viserys left to return to his quarters to reflect.

'House Greyjoy would just antagonize the rest of the Kingdoms, the Boltons would help us overthrow the Starks but could not hold the North as Oathbreakers, Tyrells were busy trying to marry into the Usurper's family, Dorne is already in our pocket, and houses Tully, Arryn, and Baratheon hold the Vale, Riverlands and Stormlands. The traitor Tywin is too feared for any support from the Westerlands. We could possibly turn his son Tyrion to us; but no one would obey a dwarf, and marrying Dany to him would send a bad message to the other houses.'

Viserys understood. If he wanted to reclaim his house's rightful place, he had to rely on outside aid. In itself it was a good thing. He would raise them to nobility to replace the traitors he would kill.

He stared at his deck. The appearance of the cards had thrown all of his plans off. But they also gave him hope. He would use them to end the Usurper and his bloodline. Baratheon, Starks, Arryn and Lannister. They would be reminded of his house's words. They would burn in the flames of his justice and choke on the blood of his family they had killed.

'Father, Rhaegar, Mother, Rhaenys, Aegon. You all will be avenged. I just need more time.' His thoughts then turned to his other family. The one he had never met. The one his brother had told him to expect in secret the last time they talked before his world had ended. When he had heard only Ned Stark and his Bannerman had survived, he knew what had happened.

'You too Jaehaerys/Visenya. I may have never met you, but your uncle will pay the price for killing you to appease the Usurper.'

AN: Originally this chapter was just going to be Viserys and some quick stuff tacked on to the end. But the ending lines popped in my head, and I wanted to end the chapter there, so I added the Robert part to lengthen it out. Was originally planning to have Viserys duel here, but realized Jorah was not yet there, and I could not have Viserys duel Illyrio's slaves because they were now mostly freed. And Dany is a bit of a scene stealer so she does not appear except in Viserys' thoughts. I do have at least one Viserys duel planned, but it will take awhile for his opponent to get there.

Next time we return to where it all began as we get our first Winterfell chapter since the prologue.

Jon's deck is basically an amalgamation of some of my favorite cards. He has a bunch of warriors, but none that have the title of "Knight" in the name, due to the fact that Jon is not of the faith of the seven and thus does not hold knighthood to be a big thing. He does have dragons in his deck, but with how common that became after the cards appeared, no one will think of him any different for it. Also gave him some "wolf" monsters but there were way less of those than I thought going in. He also has that mystery card he keeps contemplating, but don't expect to see it in action soon. Unfortunately any hints I give to it will give it away, so it will be awhile.

Feel Free to review and Favorite.

Jaehaerys Joestar


	5. Chapter 4: Bastard Vs Hostage

AN: I HAVE RETURNED!

Sorry for the delay, I had finals which were mixed between papers and tests and group projects, so I did not have free time to write chapters. I did however manage to do complete decks for several other characters. In addition to those mentioned in the last chapter, here are the new ones: Renly, Oberyn, Littlefinger, Bronn, Mya Stone.

Now, we shall return to Winterfell and if there is time, maybe some other places just to check in.

THE NORTH-WINTERFELL

JON

"Alright now boys! Put away the swords, it's time to train in the new way." Ser Roderick yelled across the training ground. Jon put the wooden sword down and walked over to the rack and put it away. He had been hacking at a dummy while Robb and Theon sparred. It had started with Robb and him, but then Rodrick had Robb come out and Theon became his opponent, then Robb was sent back in instead of Jon. Ser Roderick had made a point about the chaos of battle making your opponent disappear only for another to take their place.

Ever since the cards had appeared, they had adapted their training. The first half was spent on regular combat, while the second half was duelling. Bran had asked why they bothered with the old style only to get scolded by the old knight for making light of how things had been done since the beginning of time. And how it was always good to have a backup plan. A thief may win a duel and take your items, but if he decides afterwards to kill you, you can still fight back. Even now, roughly three moons later, they were still learning new rules as others tried new things.

Jon summoned his disk and approached Ser Roderick. It was just him, Robb and Theon. Bran was with Maester Luwin going over some problems Bran had gotten wrong.

Ser Roderick held out three sticks, the tips just poking out from his hand. "Longest one sits out." he explained. Robb pulled one out, followed by Theon, whose stick was shorter than Robb's. Jon got the third, which was middling in size.

Jon stared at Theon as Roderick and Robb moved to the side. Theon had gotten onto one of his really arrogant phases. They never particularly liked each other, but after Father punished Theon enough for bringing up his bastardry too much, they could at least be courteous when needed or just ignore each other otherwise. But every now and again Theon would feel a need to remind Jon that he was still above him. Jon supposed that if he and Theon were just two small folk boys, they would have killed each other by now. But Robb and the requirements of nobility saw to it that it never reached that far.

Both their Duel Disks displayed their Life Points as the duel began. "Alright Snow, since you don't have a chance, I'll be the gracious one and give you the first move." Theon yelled in that mocking voice of his.

"I would not claim victory before the swords are drawn if I were you." Jon replied. At first, and still sometimes, such taunting would get on Jon's nerves and cloud his mind, but he was so used to it from Theon it hardly registered in this instance.

DUEL BEGIN: J:4000 T: 4000

Jon drew and looked at his hand. 'There is a good combination here, but if I could, I would prefer to use it when I can actually deal damage.' Jon looked at the rest of his hand and made his move. "I summon Pitch Black Warwolf in attack mode." The humanoid wolf with some armor appeared on the field. A second larger wolf head barely visible appeared on top of its head made of black fog. "Next I play one card face down. Your move."

"Hn." Theon grunted. He drew his card and took a minute to come up with a strategy. "I summon 7 Colored Fish in attack mode." A large fish, as big as a giant just shy of manhood according to Old Nan's stories appeared, with scales shining in the aforementioned seven colors.

Jon figured Theon would prioritize his Water monsters. Theon had tried to build a full deck out of them, but they were not all that common in the North. If he went to the coastal regions such as White Harbor, he could find some more, but no one thought it worth the trip. Maesters were still trying to figure why some cards appeared more commonly in some places specific to the type of location, while other cards could be found almost anywhere. Because of this, Theon only had a handful of Water monsters available to him, but he would use them as a reminder to everyone that he was future lord of the Iron Islands.

"Now I play one card face down, and attack!" The 7 colored fish charged forward, swimming in the air. Pitch Black Warwolf tried to block with their blade, only to be pierced by it's tusks.

J: 3800 T: 4000

"I end my turn. Had enough yet Snow?" Theon yelled as his fish swam back to his side of the field.

"Just thought I'd give you a small win to help comfort you." Jon replied as he drew. He looked at the card. 'Shield & Sword, I could use it now, but I can already defeat his fish, so it may be better to hold off on it. That face down is worrying though. Should I risk it?' Jon decided he could.

"I summon the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, in attack mode." The strange figure in unfamiliar green armor with pointed ears, purple marks under his eyes and straw colored hair appeared on the field.

"Come on Snow, I know I'm better than you, but I did not think you were an idiot. My monster is more powerful, and you played it in attack mode. You could have at least had it take a hit for you instead!" Theon pointed out with a laugh at Jon's perceived failure.

"Perhaps, but not when I have these! I play Sogen." Grass started to grow on the training yard. Only to suddenly wither away.

"Sorry Snow, but my trap card, Magic Jammer means your card was a waste. All it cost me is one card in my hand." Theon said as he discarded his White Dolphin from his hand.

Jon let out a laugh. "You really should have remembered what I said about calling a battle early. I play my OTHER spell card, Lightning Blade." Suddenly a sword crackling with lightning appeared before Celtic Guardian, and he grabbed onto it. "Now my Monster's attack power is 2200. But that's not all. You see Lightning blade also lowers the attack of all Water monsters on the field." Celtic Guardian pointed his new blade at 7 Colored Fish, and lightning shot towards it. It survived, but was crippled, with a large burn on one side of its body. Its attack was lowered to 1300.

"Next I activate my Trap, Skull Invitation! Now when either of us lose a card, we take damage. Now Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, cut his fish down to size!" Celtic Guardian ran towards the large fish and stayed on it's burnt side. He sunk the blade into the burn and unleashed another blast of lightning, cooking the fish from the inside out until it faded. Jon's Skull invitation then released a black fog that covered Theon's duel disk, further lowering his life points.

J: 3800 T: 2800

"I end my turn." Jon finished. He looked in his hand, he had Shield & Sword as well as Blue Flame Swordsman. Ideally he would have held out and equipped Blue Flame with Lightning Blade, but for the time being, he was in a strong position.

"My turn." Theon said as he drew, bravado now gone that he was trailing so far behind. On the bright side he had four cards in his hand which gave him more options than Jon.

"First I play Red Medicine to heal me!" Theon said as a glass container appeared in his hand. He popped the cork and drank it, only to suddenly spit some of it out. When he looked at it he saw it had turned black. He looked at his Life Points.

J: 3800 T: 3000

'No, I should be at 3300.' Theon thought as he looked at the number.

"Sorry Theon, but Skull Invitation covers ALL cards sent to the graveyard. Consider it paying back your debts before pocketing the change." Jon explained.

Theon focused on his remaining cards. 'two spells and a monster. I can work with that.'

"I play a monster face down, and set a card as well." Theon declared.

"My turn then." Jon drew and looked.

"I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards. Though I will also take damage."

J: 3500 T: 3000

Jon looked at his two new cards. 'Cost Down, would have been more useful before I activated Skull Invitation.' The other card though could be of immediate use.

"I summon Masaki, the legendary Swordsman." Masaki appeared on the field. (AN: I am not giving descriptions to cards already seen).

"Now I will attack your face down with Obnoxious Celtic Guardian." Celtic Guardian ran forward and cut the card in two, only for it to be Man-Eater Bug.

"Sorry Snow but my Bug is taking out your Guardian as well." Theon yelled.

Man-Eater Bug's claws jutted towards Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's throat, only to have the arm cut off. Unfortunately, the force of the strike meant the claw landed its mark, pushed forward by the momentum. Both dissipated as Skull Invitation wrapped around both duelist's disks. Jon's stayed covered for twice as long as he had also lost Lightning Blade.

J: 2900 T: 2700

"Good move, but I'm not done yet. Masaki, attack him directly!" Masaki charged forward and slashed at Theon's chest, bringing him down to his knees.

J: 2900 T: 1600

"With that I end my turn." Jon said. He was a bit more on edge now. He just lost his strong combination and was left with a weaker monster to defend. 'I'll be lucky if he does not draw a monster, but even then I should hope for another one of my own either way.'

"My move." Theon declared. He looked at the monster he had just drawn. Combined with his facedown that had failed as a bluff, It would work. 'I will hit him with this combo just as he hit me, and then when he goes to put his next monster in defense, I can use the Defense Block in my hand to force him to take damage.'

"I summon Fiend Kraken in attack mode." A large white Squid appeared on the field. Suddenly, a horn appeared on its head as it grew in size.

"My face down, Horn of the Unicorn now activates, increasing my Kraken's attack and defense by 700. Fiend Kraken now has 1900. More than enough to take out your Masaki."

Masaki cut off the first tentacle to approach it only to be grabbed from behind. Fiend Kraken impaled him on it's new horn. Skull Invitation then covered Jon again.

J:1800 T: 1600

"I end my turn." Theon said, his arrogant smirk returning now that he had turned the tide.

"My move then." Jon drew a card. 'I can use this but I need something more in order to win.'

"I place one card face down and end my turn." All Jon could do was hope Theon did not draw or summon another monster as strong as Fiend Kraken, but even if he summoned a weaker one, he would survive for now.

"My Turn." Theon drew. Unfortunately for him it was not a monster, but it did not matter, as he would still win this turn. 'Might as well go all out.' He thought to himself.

"I play the field spell Umi." The training ground was suddenly flooded, though it stopped right before reaching Robb and Ser Roderick.

"The vast ocean will increase my Kraken's power even more." Fiend Kraken dived into the water and it's attack rose to 2100.

"Now I attack and win this duel!" Fiend Kraken attacked, swiping at Jon with it's tentacles, only to have them bounce off.

"Sorry but my Trap card activated. Defense Draw. I take no damage from that attack and can draw a card." Jon explained as he did so. However he still took damage.

J: 1500 T: 1600

"I end my turn." Theon said.

Jon drew again and looked at his two new cards. 'I can work with these.' He thought as his plan formed in his mind.

"First I activate Cost Down, so by discarding the card I just drew, I can lower the monster in my hand's level by two. This will let me summon the Blue Flame Swordsman." The swordsman appeared, clad in blue robes and armor. His sword shorn his namesake blue flames. Unfortunately the water from Umi dampened the flames, but only slightly, bringing him down to 1600 attack.

"Next I activate Monster Reborn, to bring back the same monster I just discarded. Come forth Summoned Skull!"

A flash of lightning hit the ground as a skeleton like monster rose up. However it also had dark wings on it's back and purple muscles underneath the skeleton.

"Now then, Skull Invitation has to lower my life points due to sending three cards to the graveyard this turn." The smoke once again enveloped Jon.

J: 600 T: 1600

"Now that that is over, Summoned Skull can attack your Kraken!" Summoned Skull summoned forth a ball of lightning and hurled it at the water, frying Fiend Kraken in the same manner Obnoxious Celtic Guardian did to 7 Colored Fish. Skull Invitation then covered Theon.

J: 600 T: 900

"Now then, Blue Flame Swordsman, finish this duel!" Blue Flame Swordsman obeyed, drawing his sword and letting out a pillar of fire that hit Theon, Evaporating Umi along the way. Theon took the hit and was thrown back.

J: Victory T: Defeat

"Alright now. Come over here you two." Ser Roderick barked out as Theon stood back up. They approached him and Robb and began to go over the duel.

"Theon, it was smart of you not to play Horn of the Unicorn when it was in your starting hand. That card is tricky to use as it always goes to the top of your deck. On the other hand, you fell into a panic when Jon acted confident. Had you waited a second you would have seen that Obnoxious Celtic Guardian was still too weak to take on your 7 Colored Fish and could have blocked Lightning Blade instead. You also let Masaki hit you in order to take out Celtic Guardian, which was twice as strong. Given what you had to work with, any competent strategist would make the same choice.

"Jon, that was a good combination you did there, but you could have goaded Theon with Pitch Black Warwolf in Defense mode instead of attack. Also, your Skull Invitation was a double edged sword. I believe you lost more Life Points to it than to Theon. You may have won, but you lost over half your Life Points on your final turn in order to make it work."

Theon and Jon listened. When Ser Roderick was done, Robb's turn was up.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER-DINING HALL

"So when are the Wildling prisoners arriving?" Theon asked as they sat eating lunch.

"They are not prisoners, they are Hostages." Maestar Luwin said as he walked up to the trio. "You should be able to tell the difference."

"They are still Wildlings. I can't see what Lord Stark or the Lord Commander are thinking." Theon replied in a more subdued tone after that reminder.

Jon could honestly say he understood what Theon was saying. True, they only knew rumors and what Father told them, but what they heard was so strange to think about.

Apparently the Night's Watch had a Wilding named Craster as a sort of rest stop Beyond the Wall. Unfortunately his Wife (Or daughter, Father said wife, but Jon had heard someone claim it was his daughter) had dueled Craster and killed him. Now his home had been ransacked, and a wildling village established in a nearby location. After losing their information and aid amongst the Wildlings, the Lord Commander Jeor Mormont had dispatched Benjen to see if a similar deal could be made with the village.

Jon did not know every part of the agreement, but he had been told that the village would be able to trade with the watch, and even hunt south of the wall if they were accompanied by the Watch. In order to maintain order, they had decided to use hostages to keep the peace. The Lord Commander, fearing attempts by his brother's to kill the hostages out of spite, had asked Ned to hold them.

As they spoke, Benjen and his black brothers were escorting a group of Wildings consisting mainly of children with one or two warriors to act as their protector through House Umber territory. THAT, had taken half a moon to get the Greatjon to agree to this arrangement.

In Winterfell, the hostages would be both close enough to be executed should the village betray them, and safe from any Night's Watch brother seeking reprisal from other Wildlings.

"At any rate, they will be here within a fortnight." Luwin told Theon before walking off.

WINTERFELL-LORD'S SOLAR

EDDARD

Ned Stark sat staring at a map of the North. He had three rocks in his hand that he tried placing onto the map only to take them off and put them somewhere else. The largest rock, represented Jon, the middle one Bran, and the smallest Rickon. He was searching the North for areas that his sons could rule once they were men.

The North was vast but sparsely populated. There were huge tracts of land that he could give his sons but they would hardly matter if there were too few people to be under them. The North had the harshest winters in all the Seven Kingdoms. Even the nobility was not immune to all that. Each winter there were worries of a noble house being wiped out. A man with five brothers each starting their own family in summer may find that by Winter's end he is all that remains of his blood. It's one of the reasons why there were no direct branch houses of House Stark or any of the powerful houses. It was a delicate balance between having a large enough family to ensure the house lives on, and of making sure the family was small enough that one did not run out of supplies before spring. The Flints were unique in this regard, holding two keeps.

Ned hoped that all of his children would live to be old and wrinkled, and while Sansa and Arya could be married into other families to look after them, his sons would be his responsibility.

Unfortunately he had to ignore any open land on the eastern side of The North. His Father had always stressed that they could not give the Bolton's a foot hold, and while Ned was courteous with Roose, he did not like the idea of leaving his sons so close to such a man. Maybe he would reconsider when that son of his was leading the house.

For now he considered giving Rickon an abandoned keep from the days of the IronBorn raiding between the Stony Shores and Sea Dragon Point. It was just outside of the Glover's domain, and the fishing villages there were always hard to deal with due to being so isolated. A local lord who could open direct communications to Winterfell would be useful.

Bran may be able to hold a keep in the forest between Flint's Fingers and the swamps of the Neck. There he could hunt in the forest for meat to salt for winter, and it was far enough south that the Winter may be weaker there. Not like in the south but any advantage could help. He knew Howland would be delighted to have a Stark so close.

That just left Jon. He was the hardest to place. Some would say he was not worthy of a keep, due to his bastardry. As such, any lord who is nearby to Jon's seat could view it as an insult. 'If they knew the truth then they would be marching their daughters to him.' Ned let himself chuckle at that thought. Unfortunately it would never happen. Jon may have had the blood and legitimacy, but to acknowledge it meant certain death.

If the truth came to light, then Ned would have to choose between the brother of his childhood, or the nephew he had sworn to protect. He did not want to make that choice. Mainly because he already knew what he would do.

There was one place that he wanted to give Jon, but he worried it would be too great a seat for Jon's public persona to have: Moat Cailin. On the one hand, it was a ruin, and would take years to rebuild- though Ned had been planning on doing so for awhile. Many would say that Jon should be thankful his bastardry got him that much. On the other hand it held such significance to the North that to put it in the hands of a bastard could be seen as an insult.

Ned sighed and walked out of the Solar. He still had years to plan things out and something could happen to open up new opportunities.

We walked out only to bump into Maester Luwin, who held a scroll from a raven.

"News from Greywater Watch, My Lord." The Maester handed it to him.

Ned unrolled the scroll and read the familiar writing of his old friend. Apparently Howland had just escorted a boy of noble birth through the Neck on his way to the watch. Howland told the boy to stop at Winterfell before heading to the wall. Strangely, the note said Ned had to hear this boy's story before he left for the Wall.

AN: Here we go again.

Most of the Free Folk on the way are just random children being used as hostages, but as you can probably guess, 2 or 3 are some old friends from canon. Sam is also on his way.

I spent so long looking at maps of the North, trying to figure out the Ned scene.

Next chapter we return to KL for Robert V Trant.

Deck Analysis LF: Baelish is unique in that he has two decks. One for public use against other members of the court and such, and a secret deck that he can use to surprise his opponents. His Public deck is relatively run of the mill, but holds enough rare cards that people would not question why the guy in charge of money has such weak cards. He has both Petit Dragon and Invader of Darkness in it. It is possible to win with such a deck, but Baelish prefers to be seen as the non threatening guy.

His Private deck is a whole other beast. Just as Baelish wishes to sacrifice others to get what he wants, his deck reflects that. Filled with Ritual monsters and ways to summon them. Also, he has Marshmallon in this deck.

In terms of monsters, both decks tend to lean towards Light or Dark attribute, but he has others as well.


	6. Chapter 5: The Demon's Return

AN: Alright, Here is a chapter I hope to get out before or on Christmas.

Let's not waste any time as we get our first duel to the death.

CROWNLANDS-KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP-TRAINING GROUND

ROBERT I

R: 3500 B:1700

"Alligator Sword, Attack his Tyhone!" The lizard like being that was said to resemble the alligators in the Neck of the North ran forward on only two legs and used it's sword to cut right through the strange greenish yellow bat like creature.

"Now Vorse Raider, finish him off!" The Monster that looked humanoid save its fangs and horns brought its axe down on the defenseless Baelish, and his Life Points hit zero

R: Victory B: Defeat

The monsters faded from sight as the duel ended.

"An excellent victory Your Grace." Ser Barristan said as Stannis helped Baelish up.

"Hopefully I can repeat it against Trant." Robert muttered.

As time drew near for them to officially judge Meryn Trant, Robert- who had in the years of peace idealized his war experience- was suffering a reality check. The anticipation, the realization that there was a chance he could die, they say the waiting is the worst part of war, and right now, Robert knew it was true.

He had been training ever since that day, making small changes to his deck, and had cut back to a skin or two of wine per day. All so he could focus entirely on the upcoming battle.

He had dueled each member of the Kingsguard and the Small Council several times. If he lost, they went over what he did wrong and duelled again. But sometimes there was simply nothing he could do. Sometimes his hand was just filled with high level monsters stopping him from making any move. It did not happen often, but it was concerning when it did.

In the meantime, they had filled Trant's position with Balon Swann. Ser Barristan praised his honor and he was a good duelist and swordsman.

"Your Grace, for the last time, let me duel him." Robert turned around and watched as Jaime approached them. He had a dark look on his face, but it was different than what he looked like when Trant was usually concerned.

"I suppose they are not coming?" Robert hazard a guess to why Jaime was like that.

"No, it's probably for the best they do not appear." Jaime said with a sigh.

Tommen and Myrcella would be barred from watching the duel, on account of their age. Robert did not want them to watch him die or even just injured. But Joffrey and Cersei as heir and queen would be more expected to show up. But it seemed they as well would be missing.

"If anyone asks, they are in private prayer for your victory." Baelish suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Now then, let us not waste any more time. We can do one more duel before the trial." Robert said, wanting to get his mind back into the duel.

"Very well then. I shall take you on." Jaime said as he walked over to where Baelish stood before.

CROWNLANDS-KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP-THRONE ROOM

Robert sat upon the Iron Throne. It was as uncomfortable as ever, but it was a symbol of his power.

Trant would be brought up last. If Robert was to die today, he would take care of all the immediate business.

There was little things but for the most part three things stood out. A merchant arrested for not paying taxes claiming the tax collector must have pocketed it. He ordered a search of the collector's house while he was in the Red Keep. A brothel not owned by Littlefinger was being accused of also catering to Trant's perversion. Varys whispered that he would have a little bird check it out while Robert feigned ignorance and said without proof they would not act. And a Septon was going around claiming any who used a Dark attribute monster was in service with demons had popped up. By the time Robert had heard of it he had already left King's Landing. Though concerningly he took a handful of smallfolk with him.

After all of these issues well recorded or dealt with, it was time. Meryn Trant was brought in by two gold cloaks holding chains, flocked by Ser Jaime and Ser Boros behind them. He was marched to the center of the throne room, and made to kneel before the throne.

"Meryn Trant, formerly Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard, you have been accused of attempted rape of a child by myself, Sers Jaime and Barristan, and Lord Varys. Do you deny these accusations?"

"Aye, I deny them." Trant spat out. "You did not see me do anything to the bitch."

"You held her against a wall and were about to tear her clothes off."

"I am a Kingsguard, I'm supposed to interrogate suspicious people who could do you harm." Trant yelled.

"A girl of five is someone you think can endanger the royal family?" Robert yelled. After a moment of silence he continued. "We have word you frequented a brothel. The gold cloaks went there after your arrest and found half a dozen girls less than six years old working there. The man in charge admitted they were kept specifically for you and others who share your perversion. We also have the word of many of handmaid's that this was not the first girl of noble birth that you had chosen. We even have word from your nephew, the current Lord Trant. He said the entire reason your brother recommended you for the Kingsguard was to protect his daughter, who would have been seven when you joined."

"Lies, all lies." Trant yelled as the crowd around them all looked at him with condemning eyes. "If my word is not enough to prove my innocence, then the gods shall prove it for me. I demand a Trial by combat! With the Cards!" The room went silent for a moment, before whispers filled the throne room with more sound than when they were yelling.

"Very well then. Guards, remove the accused's cuffs." The Gold Cloaks did so, and Robert walked down the steps of the Iron Throne. In their shock that king himself would be risking his life, the crowd was pushed either back or to the side, until there was a clear area from wall to wall between the two. Robert's two squires- Lancel and Tyrek Lannister- came out with two tables on wheels, Each one filled with cards. A regular trial by combat allowed both combatants to choose from the same weapons and armor, so a trial with cards included given them a chance to improve their this was happening, the High Septon-who had been summoned before hand- blessed the duel and said the gods shall favor the just. Robert scanned the cards but chose none, trusting the ones he already had. Trant on the other hand, grabbed a few that Robert could not see. Once Lancel and Tyrek were out of the way, Robert and Trant summoned their disks, shuffled their decks, and began the duel as their disk's flashed their Life Points

R: 4000 T: 4000

"As the accused, Meryn Trant shall have the first move." Stannis said as the highest royal besides Robert stood between them before walking to the side.

"My move then." Meryn Trant said as he drew a card before looking at his hand. He grabbed three. "I play two cards face down, then I summon Furious Sea King!" A blue man like creature with the head of a fish appeared with a red cape, in his hands was a trident. It had 800 Attack and Defense.

"I end my turn." Trant declared.

"Very well then, It's my turn!" Robert yelled as he drew a card. He looked at his hand: Guardian of the Throne, Machine King Prototype, Queen's Knight, Drain Shield, Machine Assembly Line, and he just drew Waboku.

'He summoned such a weak monster. If it was the only monster in his hand, he could have played it in defense mode. It has to be a trap. Would it be better to let it stay on the field, or should I trip it to get it out of the way while I can still afford to make mistakes? I have my own traps to protect me as well.'

"I will do as you did, and place these two cards face down. But I summon Queen's Knight!" A woman with blonde hair wearing red armor appeared on the field. She held a sword with a red crossguard in her left hand, while her right held a decent sized shield with a red diamond on the top, a heart on the bottom, a black clover on the left, and a spade on the right.

"Now Queen's Knight, Attack Furious Sea King!" (Live out Cersei's wildest fantasy went unsaid).

"I activate my Trap card :Mirror Mail!" Suddenly, Furious Sea King was covered in armor made out of Myrish Looking glass. "This makes his Attack equal to Queen's Knight."

"So they shall both be destroyed then?" Robert queried.

"Not quite, my other trap activates: Mirror Wall! This lowers your monster's attack by half when it attacks me."

Queen's Knight's sword hit a wall of looking glass that popped up in front of the Sea King. suddenly she could not move, and Sea King skewered her with his trident. Part of her armor went flying backwards, and cut Robert's arm.

R: 3250 T: 4000

Robert looked at the blood dripping down his arm. It hurt but no worse than a regular cut. If he won he knew it would disappear as if it never happened.

"I end my turn." Robert declared.

"My move then." Trant said as he drew. "In order to keep Mirror Wall on the field, I need to give up 1000 Life Points every turn, else it is destroyed.

R: 3250 T: 3000

Unlike Robert, who had a physical injury, Trant just looked a bit winded. Like he had been in a good spar.

"First I play Double Summon! This allows me to summon two monsters this turn. First I summon Kojikocy!" A shirtless man with a sword and strong arms appeared, he wore no shirt but did wear a helm with a spike on it, as well as leggings with pieces of metal and spikes.

"Next I summon a monster face down. Next I attack with Furious Sea King!" The Sea King charged at Robert with it's Trident, only to be stopped by a group of Septas wearing blue robes.

"This is my trap card, Waboku, it makes any damage I receive this turn 0."

"Then I end my turn." Trant said.

"My Move." Robert drew his card. 'That Mirror Wall is a problem. If I wanted to destroy one of his monsters, mine would need to have at least 3050 Attack points, and its likely he could just destroy those. But if I do not attack, then he can't halve their strength.'

"I summon Bull Blader, in attack mode. Then I end my turn." A man-shaped creature appeared, but any hint of flesh was obscured by metal. Its head was that of a bull, with red metal horns twice the size of the head. It had 1600 Attack.

"My Move then." Meryn Trant drew a card. "Due to Mirror Wall, I lose another 1000 Life Points."

R: 3250 T: 2000

'I have the advantage for now, but I can't hurt him myself' Robert thought to himself.

"I summon Dark Blade in Attack mode." A warrior in black armor covered in spikes and cloaked in shadows appeared on the field.

"Now he shall attack your Bull Blader!" Dark Blade ran forward only for Bull Blader to pull out a shield and block the attack.

"That would be my Drain Shield. It negates your attack and I gain Life Points equal to your attack."

R: 5050 T: 2000

A cheer went up in the crowd. Robert was winning by over double Trant's Life Points.

"In that case, I end my turn." Meryn Trant said, looking worriedly at his Disk showing 2000.

"My move then." Robert declared. He drew a card. 'This may be able to buy me some time, plus I can get another monster on the field.'

"First I play the Spell card Hammer Shot. This card destroys the monster with the Highest Attack on the field." A Giant hammer descended from the ceiling and crushed Dark Blade.

"Next I summon Guardian of the Throne in attack mode." A metallic figure resembling a knight appeared on the field. On its back were long metallic objects that functioned like arrows or javelins.

"That will be it for now." Robert told Trant.

"My Move then. Unfortunately, I must get rid of Mirror Wall." The wall faded from existence.

"But now it's time to clear the field. I flip summon my face down Cyber Jar!" Suddenly a metallic jar appeared. In its opening was a face. It opened its mouth and all the monsters on the field were sucked into it. Then it exploded.

"First Cyber Jar destroys all monsters on the field. Then we each draw five cards and summon as many monsters from them as possible." Meryn Trant did so and got three monsters. "I summon Jinzo #7, Nightmare Horse, and Raging Flame Sprite." A man covered in purple rags with his brain exposed save for some glass, a horse covered in white rags that seemed to be made out of blue light, and a small human like creature in a strange hat and holding a ball of fire appeared on the field.

Robert drew his five cards and summoned two. "I summon Alligator Sword, and Axe Raider." Alligator sword was joined by a muscular man in a yellow chest-plate and helmet, weilding an axe.

"Your monsters may be more powerful, but they will not help you. I play Swords of revealing Light." Swords of light descended on Robert's side of the field, pinning his monsters in place. "This stops you from attacking me for three turns. And while your monsters may be stronger, mine are all allowed to attack you directly. Like this!" All three charged at Robert, Jinzo cutting his stomach, Flame Sprite throwing a ball of fire on his leg, and Nightmare horse Tackling Robert to the ground.

R: 3950 T: 2000

"That will finish up my turn, but you should know, when Raging Flame Sprite deals damage from a direct attack, he gains a thousand attack points." The Flame Sprite grew in size as the turn ended.

"My move then." Robert declared. He looked at the four new cards he had gained since his last turn. 'With those swords in the way, my options are limited.'

"I play my own Double Summon to bring forth both Machine King Prototype, and Aye-Iron." A red metal man appeared on a throne, and to his side was a metal animal that had some sort of instrument in its hands.

"Since I can not attack anyway, I activate Aye-Iron's ability, raising his attack by 400. Also Machine King Prototype gets an extra 100 attack for other machine monsters on the field. That will be it for me this turn." Aye-Iron clapped the instruments together and grew in size.

"My turn then." Trant said as he drew. "First I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, which shall give me another 1000 Life Points. Now I attack with all three monsters again!" A repeat of the last turn occurred, only this time Robert's leg actually caught on fire. This caused him to fall on the ground from the tackle. He did not immediately get up.

R: 1850 T: 3000

"I end my turn. With Swords of Revealing Light still in play, you can not attack me this turn, then I can finish you off." Trant laughed as the Flame Spirit once again grew in size.

'Is this it then?' Robert thought as he tried to stand, the pain of the last attack lingering like his wound from Rhaegar. 'Well, I had a good life. Better than most. Met Ned, became king. May have hated it but it was definitely not something my father would have expected. Maybe it's time. Stannis, Renly and Jon can reign in Joffrey, and even if he wins everyone will know of Trant's crime. He may say he is innocent, but he will end up dead sooner or later. Maybe it's time to see Lyanna again.'

Robert glanced around the room. The Iron Throne, where Stannis stared at him. Most would see it as a disapproving look but being his brother Robert knew it was Stannis' concerned face. Varys was biting his lip, Jon looked like he wanted to jump in the duel himself. A look Barristan shared. He looked into the crowd behind Trant. There were many nobles whispering about if he was about to die, Tommen and Gendry were looking at him with worried looks on their faces, some small folk were watching the duel in amazement, the High Septon seemed to be looking worried.

...Wait.

Robert looked back at the crowd again.

Sure enough, there was Gendry, his bastard he had come across and Tommen. Gendry seemed to be trying to hide Tommen from the rest of the crowd, but Robert could see him easily.

Suddenly a memory flooded back to Robert. Three boys, one just barely a man, watching a ship sink into the bay, carrying both their parents to the Stranger.

'Not them' Robert thought as he got back to his feet. 'They will not go through what we did.' Robert stood up, and to those who fought in the rebellion, the Demon of the Trident had returned.

"That the best you got you sick fuck? My turn." Robert drew a card and then played it the moment he laid eyes on it. "I play my spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon, and now your swords are swept away!" The swords shattered from a sudden burst of wind.

"Now then, I sacrifice my Alligator Sword and Axe Raider, in order to summon Perfect Machine King!" The Larger and improved version of Machine King Prototype appeared, it had red metal for skin, and white metal for armor. Suddenly, pieces of Aye-Iron and Prototype flew off of them, and became part of Perfect Machine King.

"That would be his effect, it's the same as Prototype, but he gets an extra 500. And of course Prototype also gets a 100 more as well. Now then. Prototype will destroy your Jinzo #7." Prototype let loose a punch that removed his arm and struck Jinzo #7 with enough force to decapitate him.

R: 800 T: 1800

"Next, Aye-Iron will destroy Nightmare Horse." Aye-Iron brought its instruments together, and the resulting sound wave dissipated Nightmare Horse's body.

R: 800 T: 300

"Now then, Perfect Machine King, destroy his Raging Flame Sprite!" Machine King simply walked up to the sprite, and just crushed it with their hands.

R: Victory T: Defeat

"Meryn Trant, you have been found guilty of the rape and attempted rape of multiple children. May the gods send you to the Seven Hells. Perfect Machine King, finish him off." The Machine King walked up to Trant.

"No...This can't be...I don't deserve this. Merc-" Perfect Machine King grabbed Trant's head and squeezed it until it exploded, covering itself with blood. The monsters faded, and the blood and gore from Trant fell to the ground.

The crowd went into a cheer at the sight of their king's victory. They watched as his previous injuries seemed to fade away the moment the duel ended.

"Clean this filth at once! The rest of you get out of here." Robert yelled to no one in particular. Everyone began to disperse, but Gendry and Tommen stayed to side and when most of the crowd left approached Robert. Stannis, Jon and the rest of the Small Council came to him as well.

"Tommen! Why are you here?" Jaime exclaimed in concern at the sight of his nephew.

"Ser Pounce found a hole in my room!" The young prince explained. Everyone looked at Varys.

"Maegor built the keep and killed all the builders, even I do not know every single tunnel or secret room." Varys tried to point out.

"Pardon me, uh...Your Grace." Gendry started to speak. "I was making a delivery to the armory here, when I found Prince Tommen here outside. He came up to me and asked me to help find you. We followed the crowd and I tried to keep him close so no one got any ideas." The boy was obviously nervous from being surrounded by so much nobility.

"No-no it's fine lad, you did well. Ser Jaime, maybe you should bring the prince to the royal chambers, I'm sure his absence has been noted by now."

Jaime nodded and grabbed Tommen's hand and guided him back to the royal quarters.

This left Robert and Gendry with the small council and kingsguard. Those not already aware of Gendry's existence by now have picked up on his identity.

"W-uh well then Y-Your Grace, my master Tobho Mott is probably wondering what is taking me so long. So I guess I'll uh… be on my way back." Gendry said as he started to walk away. The only one not knowing he was speaking to his father.

Robert looked at the small council. Baelish had a neutral expression, Varys was looking as uncomfortable in the situation as Robert felt, Ser Barristan looked at him, as did Jon and Stannis. Renly had seen his old squire Ser Loras and snuck off to talk to him.

Robert began to approach Gendry "Now wait lad. Your master can't quite complain about you being late if I tell him you were doing something to help my family. Besides I can thank him for giving me the cards I used in that duel."

Gendry nodded along to the idea of walking through the city next to the king, and they began to walk out of the throne room, flanked by Barristan and Blount.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Robert decided to break it by questioning his son.

"So, then lad, how do you like being a blacksmith."

AN: And Happy Holidays to all my viewers.

This chapter kept getting interrupted by holiday activities, hopefully it works.

If anyone is interested in making fanart of this story, feel free to send it to me and I can use it for the cover image. I will of course credit any who do so.

First Life or Death duel ends in Robert's monster executing Meryn Trant.

Not sure where I am going to place the next chapter, may just do several small pieces from all over. So I will just explain a random character's deck that I have finished.

Might as well continue with this chapter's focus on Baratheons.

MYA STONE: Lives in the kingdom of the Sky, but her name brings her down to the Earth. She duels using a mix of Wind and Earth Attribute cards.

Signature cards: Harpie Lady and Stone Statue of the Aztecs.

These are not her strongest, just ones she tends to start off with.


	7. Chapter 7: The World at Large

AN: Alright, This chapter we are going to look at each region of the Seven Kingdoms and one of Essos to get an idea of what the world is like at this point in the story.

THE NORTH-WINTERFELL

ARYA

Arya looked out the window as people rushed about making last minute preparations for the Wildlings. From the soldiers who seemed to be on heightened guard, to Father, who was dressed more formally in a high quality wool doublet, and a good fur cloak. Jon, Robb and Theon stood beside him similarly dressed.

Meanwhile, Arya was stuck inside the sewing room with Sansa, Septa Mordane, Jeyne Poole and Beth Cassel.

Arya did not understand why she had to be here. Mother had said it was for her own protection. But the Wildlings were staying. Was she going to be forced to spend her life in this part of Winterfell? Like Baelor's sisters in the maidenvault?'

"Arya, back to your needlework young lady." The voice of Septa Mordane startled her. She begrudgingly returned to her seat in the sewing circle. Sansa and the others laughing at her.

All she could think about was the Wildlings who were coming. Old Nan had told stories about how Wildlings ate people and looked to animals to warm their beds. About the people further North like the Umbers and Mormonts being constantly threatened.

When reminded of these stories, Sansa had begged Father not to allow the Wildlings in Winterfell in front of the family. Ned had held her gently and explained that most of them were children younger than Arya. He had gotten word from the watch. Of the dozen Wildlings coming to Winterfell, only three were old enough to fight, and two of them were women. One was a year younger than Jon and Robb, the other a few years older.

The only man among the hostages was the leader. Tormund Giantsbane they called him. Arya was both excited and scared of the prospect of meeting a man from just the name.

After awhile of needlework, the Septa went around and evaluated their work. Sansa's was the best, as usual. Something that filled her with pride that Arya saw as arrogance. Beth and Jeyne did fairly well, though not as good as their friend and lady. Finally, Arya's looked like she was trying to stab the cloth until it died. (She would neither confirm nor deny if that's what she intended).

"Young Lady, I pray for your future husband to have the strength to put up with you if this is the best you can do." Septa Mordane admonished her. Sansa and her friends giggled.

"I'm not going to have a husband." Arya muttered under her breath, but Mordane heard it.

"Arya that is enough! Your father WILL choose a man of high status to take you into their house, and you will be a proper wife for them. It may take some time, but you will become a proper lady like Sansa." Sansa thanked the Septa for the compliment, which managed to distract everyone enough for the topic to change to them discussing their future husbands and how they would all be gallant and honorable knights.

Arya took the chance to look out the window again. She saw everyone almost ready. Father and the others were in position to greet the Wildlings. Just as she was about to leave the window, Jon looked up and saw her. He gave her a smile she could just barely make out, then tapped his Duel Disk-a silent promise to have a "Quiet" duel with her when everything was over. Mother had put a constant lock on Arya's personal deck. She would take it away as punishment, then find either reasons to lengthen the punishment or follow it up quickly. She was likely hoping she would eventually agree with Sansa that such a dangerous game was for men only. Sansa had hardly touched her cards at all. As such, she had to rely on her secret deck her brothers and Theon had built for her use. Arya smiled and then caught a glimpse of black on a horse coming through the gate before Septa Mordane noticed her again and dragged her from the window.

THE VALE-THE GATES OF THE MOON

MYA STONE

"Lord Royce, what do you ask of me?" Mya asked her patron and caretaker as he approached her caring for the animals in the stables.

"A job, Lady Mya. Some foreign merchants want the chance to sell their goods at the Eyrie. I tried to explain that the Lord Hand is away, but they still think they can curry favor through his household."

"And they need a guide up there? How much they willing to pay?" Mya asked.

"When I told them about you, they asked prices as well. You can have cards or coins, or perhaps a mix. Come up with a decent price and they may try to haggle down afterwards depending on the trip." Lord Royce explained.

Mya considerst the job for a bit. "Very well then. It's too late now, tell the merchants we leave at the first light. Just to make sure, I will take half payment once we are far enough along."

"Very well then." Lord Royce then left.

When she got back to the keep she ran into the merchants. They discussed payment and decided on three Gold Dragons up front, another two halfway, and then five and some cards once they reach the Eyrie. After looking through the cards they were offering, Mya chose the three she would take: Mad Sword Beast, Sky Scout, and Stone Dragon.

THE RIVERLANDS-RIVERRUN

EDMURE TULLY

Edmure Tully slammed his drink down on the table and slid back in his seat with a sigh.

"Something the matter?" Marq Piper asked as Patreck Mallister drank from his own goblet.

"What do you think?" Edmure asked sarcastically. He felt like he was being overwhelmed.

Ever since his father's illness proved to be more than a simple cold, Edmure had been forced to pick up many of his father's duties. However, Father would often issue orders that went against his decisions, and as long as he was still alive, his orders made Edmure's moot. Problems included Edmure backing one house in a dispute and Hoster the other. Luckily, the Blackwood-Bracken issue was calm since the duel. Lord Bracken's Ring of Defense being destroyed by Lord Blackwood's Mystical Space Typhoon, and Ring of Destruction bringing them both to 0 life points had seen to that. Edmure had declared that both houses had done an equal amount of wrong to the other, and that it was time to forget the grudges of the past. So far it was working. But all the other houses had different issues. While Edmure tried to be fair, Hoster put more attention on how important the houses behind the disputes were, and often sided with the more influential family.

There was also the matter of settling on how much to tax merchants passing through Riverrun based on if they were from the Riverlands or not. Edmure was of the belief that they should all pay the same taxes, while Hoster wanted to increase taxes based on where the Merchants were from. Riverlander's would pay the least, followed by the Vale and the North, and then Stormlands and so on. In the end, he would have Iron Born merchants pay more than ones from Slaver's Bay.

More recently, a Septon and his followers calling some people demons for using DARK or Fiend monsters. Edmure had wanted to ride out to meet them with the forces of Riverrun-they certainly outnumbered them: the Septon was said to have about a hundred, Edmure could take ten times that and still leave Riverrun well defended. Hoster had squashed that idea. He said nothing good would come from attacking a Septon, and that they should either let him pass by, or if he tried to stay, discreetly order another Noble to take the blame for attacking him.

With all of this going on, this was the first time in half a year that Edmure was able to meet up with Marq and Patreck and drink with them. Before, it had been a once a moon occurence.

The cards had been an interesting development. After the initial panic about them, everyone had started to calm down once the Citadel revealed their findings. With the knowledge that the cards were safe under most circumstances, Edmure had taken some time to create his own personal deck. He was rather proud of it. Unfortunately, Father had called him to his room and asked to see it. After looking through it, he threw it back at Edmure. He yelled at him for not having enough Fish cards. Luckily, Father suspected that Edmure would mess his deck up, and had already created a deck for Edmure to use that Properly showed his pride in House Tully. Even confined to a single room, his father was controlling Edmure's life. The fact that he was still unwed was the only victory Edmure had against his father. He knew he would have to marry eventually, but he took an admittedly cruel enjoyment from this one victory.

"Aw come on Ed, lighten up a bit." Patreck teased as he refilled his goblet. "I can go fetch a singer if it'll cheer you up. I heard one at an inn on the way saying you loved him like a brother!"

"NO!" Edmure stood up and yelled at his old friend, only for Marq to burst into laughter at how far it was that Edmure took his hatred of Minstrels.

Edmure sighed again and soon he was acting more like his old self for the night. There were more issues to be dealt with, but right now, he needed a break. Who knew when the next one would appear?

IRON ISLANDS-HARLAW-TEN TOWERS

RODRICK HARLAW

The Reader was in a better mood than he had in a long time. Not only had he just received some new books, but ever since the cards had appeared, the Ironborn were forced to finally adapt in a way. This had meant that he went from being seen as a weak lord, to one of the best. His strategic dueling had meant that he was practically undefeated if you did not count the first few days after the cards had appeared. Many Ironborn who had sneered at him in the past were now looking to him for guidance.

'Shame my family is not among them.' Rodrick thought to himself, as he turned his mind to the long term events of late.

Asha had not visited for awhile. She was too busy helping Balon prepare for invasion of the mainland.

The Reader was no fool. He knew Balon was waiting for the right moment to attack. Something would divide the mainland and open up a chance for him to retake the driftwood crown. He was also being foolish in his preparations for it as well. Many Ironborn had been forced to give up or remove monsters that were not of the WATER attribute. Balon was weakening their actual power out of a stupid show of pride for the waters that made the Ironborn such good sailors.

They had thought the chance may have come. King Robert was to take part in a trial by combat. If he lost, then the Ironborn would invade on the day of Joffrey's coronation. The young king would not be able to handle such a sudden attack, and without a strong king to lead the greenlanders, Balon would bring back the old ways.

Unfortunately for Balon, Robert survived. So they waited until the next chance to attack. Rodrick had tried to explain how foolish such actions were. Balon would be considered a Kinslayer as such an invasion made Theon's life forfeit, the Lords who followed Robert would still be able to take the Ironborn once the surprise was sprung, and they had barely recovered from the last rebellion. Balon had remarked that had he not been his good brother, he would have been killed for saying such things.

The only reason Rodrick did not warn the mainland was because he would be seen as a traitor to the Ironborn. He would die for his treason, and that would leave no level headed voice amongst the Isles.

All he could do for now is hope and pray that Balon dies before another opportunity presents itself. Then, either Theon or Asha would take over. Hopefully either Theon's time amongst the Greenlanders made him against the invasion, or he could talk Asha out of it once her father was gone. Victarion and the Damphair would complain, but they would ultimately submit to the new Head of House Greyjoy.

For now, all he could do was continue being the voice of reason to the Ironborn. He walked back into Ten Towers. He had some Ironborn willing to learn how to read in need of a teacher.

WESTERLANDS-CASTERLY ROCK-LORD'S SOLAR

TYWIN

Tywin sat behind the desk of his solar as Tyrion took the seat in front of the desk. Kevan had told Tyrion to head right up the moment he had dismounted from his steed.

"Well then? What is the state of the Capital?" Tywin inquired to his son.

"Thanks for the warm welcome father! The trip was a delight." Tyrion said with that annoying smirk on his face.

"You may have already been planning on going to see Jaime and the royal children, but I did command you to return with reliable information. What do you have?" Tywin replied in order to coax Tyrion out of his usual joking mood.

Tyrion sighed before replying. "Same as usual for the most part. The most interesting thing to occur was the trial by combat with King Robert."

"The whole realm knows of it. Meryn Trant is dead, Balon Swann has replaced him on the kingsguard and Robert is more popular now among the small folk than he ever was before. Tell me something Pycelle and my own men would not." Tywin summarized to skip wasting time on such common knowledge.

"Yes, I was not there though, Myrcella asked me to comfort her while it was happening. In any case, Joffrey was not there, though you likely already knew that."

Tywin nodded. It had caused a minor scandal when word had gotten out that neither the Queen nor Crown Prince were there to witness the King's battle. Cersei had the excuse of being a woman, and not wanting to see her husband die, but Joffrey not being there had been less acceptable. At worst, it showed he did not care for his father, at best it said that he was too weak to take over for Robert if he had died. Tywin knew which one was closer to the truth, but perception was a large part of ruling. Even the public story that they were in prayer was only accepted by the more pious lords. The others said they had been doing that since Trant's arrest, and it would not make a difference to the gods if they stopped to see if their prayers were working or not.

"So the two of them were just wandering around the keep while the king was fighting for his life?" Tywin guessed.

"Cersei-yes, but Joffrey is another story." Tyrion took a moment to compose himself, his face darkening as he was forced to recall something. "You heard of Tommen getting out during the duel?"

"Aye, he was found by a blacksmith who was Robert's Bastard was he not?" Tywin had heard of it from Pycelle and Jaime, but since Robert had simply walked the boy back to his forge and had not called him to the castle, Robert likely cared little for the boy. He was certainly in no position to favor him over Cersei's children.

"Apparently Joffrey was with Tommen for a bit. He went to go grab something, and Tommen ESCAPED. Joffrey came to Myrcella's room, ordered everyone out and began demanding to know where she hid him. He did not see me at first. I called the guards back in and he left."

Tywin let that sink in for a moment. The implications were...troubling.

"You think that Joffrey would harm his brother enough to kill him?" He said, piecing the unsaid words with Tyrion's voice.

"Aye."

It was madness. Tommen was Joffrey's heir. If Joffrey was caught he would be either killed or sent to the Night's Watch. Myrcella would be barred from the throne while Stannis and Renly live, and House Lannister would lose it's shot at the throne.

"Knowing you, you told Robert and Cersei. What did they have to say?"

"I was unable to talk to Robert. I confronted Cersei first. The moment she heard me suggest Joffrey was not perfect she had me escorted out of the room while screaming at me. She then had Pycelle force Robert to stay under his care to make sure he was unharmed. The trial put enough fear in Jon Arryn that he agreed with Pycelle. So, we have a Queen who refuses to see her son for what he is, and a king who is being kept in the dark."

Tywin maintained his normal demeanor, but inside his mind was working hard, trying to find any clue that Tyrion was wrong.

"What about the Cards. Surely if Joffrey wanted to harm Tommen, he could defend himself with them."

Tyrion was ready for that question. "Have you read the work of Maester Seligman? He talks about something called learned helplessness. It fits both Tommen and Myrcella's relationship with Joffrey. Basically, they have had their entire lives to endure Joffrey's torment. Nothing they have done before has ended it, so when he comes to torment and hurt them, why bother resisting?"

Tywin thought back to all the times he has interacted with his Grandchildren. Every time Joffrey was present, the other two had been more somber or nervous.

"Out. I have other work to do and so do you." Tywin told Tyrion. His son left, and Tywin was alone with his thoughts.

'Joffrey is a bigger threat to my legacy than the Castameres and Reynes ever were. Short of Kinslaying, what can I do to solve this issue?'

CROWNLANDS-DRAGONSTONE

DAVOS

"Ser Axell, Maester Cressen asked me to hand these to you." Ser Davos said to the Castellan as he saw him in the hall. Ser Axell nodded in thanks and continued on his way to the Solar.

Davos continued on his way to the little Lady Shireen's rooms. When he got there, Shireen was giggling as Patchface sang one of his songs.

Davos smiled at the girl. Considering what would soon happen, it was good for Shireen to get as much enjoyment as possible for now.

Today, one of House Redwyne's ships, The Vine would be returning from Essos with members of House Florent. It would stop at Dragonstone to drop off Lady Selyse Baratheon, and then continue back to the Reach for the rest of the family. Shireen and Selyse's relationship was...complicated She could be either overprotective or dismissive of her daughter depending on her mood at the time.

Once Shireen was done playing with Patchface, Davos made himself known.

"Ser Onion Knight!" The little lady said as she ran up and hugged him.

DRAGONSTONE-HARBOR

Davos, Ser Axell, and Shireen watched as The Vine came into port. Davos noticed the sailors and Baratheon guards Lady Selyse had taken with her start unloading the items that had been bought or gifted to her from her birth family. Then Lady Selyse finally walked off the ship. She was smiling. She noticed them and almost ran up to Ser Axell.

"Uncle! Worry not. I have solved the mystery of the Cards!" She said with the air of a Maester explaining something to a child.

Ser Axell, who was about to greet his niece, stopped at that declaration. "Selyse, what do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Selyse just looked back up at The Vine. A woman Davos did not recognize was standing on the gangplank. She was wearing a red dress, and her hair was such a shade of red that for a moment, Davos thought her head was actually aflame.

As she walked down onto Dragonstone, Selyse introduced her.

"This is Lady Melisandre. A Priestess of the true God R'hllor. I was a bit sceptical of her at first, but she has all the answers to all our questions. And soon we shall all know the truth."

Davos felt his heart grow cold as a feeling of danger crept through his body. He had a bad feeling about this.

THE REACH-HIGHGARDEN

OLENA

"Just how stupid can that son of mine be!" The Queen of Thorns asked her granddaughter as she walked into the room.

"What is it this time?" Margaery asked with a sigh.

"What is this plan I hear about Renly and Loras trying to get Robert to set Cersei aside for you? I just heard Willas complain about it while he dueled Garlan." Oleana asked with an accusatory look. It may be stupid enough to be one of Mace's ideas, but he was a good enough father to at least discuss his plans with family members who would be a part of said plans.

"What's wrong with it. It is known to almost all that there is no love lost between the two. I am younger and more beautiful than Cersei. All they need to do is convince Robert to follow his loins and I can become Queen." Margaery explained to her grandmother, only to falter at the look Oleana was giving her.

"If you think Tywin Lannister is just gonna sit back and watch his grandchildren get disinherited, and his daughter dishonored, then perhaps I was wrong to think stupidity only plagued the Tyrell men." Oleana sighed, then yelled for a servant to bring them tea. She turned back to her granddaughter.

"Why in the name of the Seven would Robert be the target of your hand? Joffrey is closer in age to you. Marry him and you will be Queen for far longer, and Tywin would have no reason to object to his grandson getting a young bride from the one family that almost matches his in wealth." She inquired.

"That was the plan at first when Mace first asked Loras for help when he was heading to King's Landing to see Renly. But Renly spoke of how cruel and vicious Joffrey was. So we decided to change to Robert." Margaery tried to defend the plan.

"I love my grandson but the boy and his 'friend' are better at swinging swords then planting seeds. Joffrey is TWELVE. People change over time. Especially when there are others to guide those changes. If your grandfather became lord before I married him, he would have ruled less than a fortnight before he said something stupid enough that the Reach would decide a Florent would be a better liege lord. But with me there in the background, he was lord for decades before his stupidity did him in. By the last years of his life I could trust him to visit his vassals without worrying about him making a mistake." Oleana took a moment and remembered that idiot fondly.

"So you think I should try to change Joffrey?" Margaery summarized.

"Aye, and if he can't change quick enough...Well that is what long engagements, stray cats, and flights of stairs are for." Oleana said with a small chuckle.

Margaery was about to agree when she processed what had just been said "...Isn't that what happened to the previous Florent Lord? Lord Alester's brother? When he was engaged to Mother?"

THE STORMLANDS-TARTH

BRIENNE

Brienne was preparing for a journey to Storm's End. Tarth had been dealing with some foreign pirates who thought that their name of the Sapphire Isle was literal. While they had not actually lost anything to the pirates, they had yet to receive a reply from the raven they sent. The Maester suggested summer storms may have killed it. House Tarth could likely handle it on their own, but in the past the Storm King or Lord would often send reinforcements, if only to deter additional pirates from trying where their predecessors had failed. So, Brienne would have to head there herself while her father maintained their defenses.

She had put on some light chainmail for the boat journey. Wearing her full armor would be bad if the boat was hit by a chance storm. They would not go into Ship Breaker Bay, but better safe than sorry.

Once she was on land, then she would put on her full plate.

Lastly, she checked her deck. It had taken her quite awhile, but she had finally constructed a deck that felt right to her. It melded both her dream, and her origin into one.

With all of this set, she walked aboard the ship, and started the journey to Storm's End. Renly may be in King's Landing serving as Master of Laws, but Cortnay Penrose was Castellan. She was known enough that she could talk to him and sort out this issue quickly.

DORNE-SUNSPEAR

ARIANNE MARTELL

Arianne Martell jumped onto the bed in her room. She had just lost a duel to her father. She had placed a wager on this duel- If she won, she would be allowed to pick her husband. It was the one thing Doran Martell kept from her. She had gotten offers ranging from Willas Tyrell himself- apparently behind his father's back- to Walder Frey. While she had little interest in a cripple or a grandfather, there were plenty of men in between she could choose from. Some of whom she already knew from past experience could do their job in the wedding bed. But for some reason, the Prince of Dorne was adamant that he pick her husband, and it felt like when he finally chose someone, she would be too old for her womb to be of use.

What was worse, was how afterwards he took the time to list the cons of each match. Any non-Dornish heirs would have to give up their own claims or force her to. Her status as a Princess meant it would not be good for a second son to marry her while the first born married someone of lower status. Some of her old loves were barely noble, and their offers were more to make sure Doran remembered their houses existed.

She heard a knock on her door. It was already open so she just looked up and saw her uncle.

"What is the matter Anne? Do you miss hearing my tales of Essos? I still have some I have yet to tell you. Like this one where I wore some strange armor I found, and rescued a-"

"Uncle, I know that was just a dream of yours. You have more stories of Essos than days you've been alive."

Oberyn let out a laugh. "Mayhaps. But which are true and which are false? Even if it seems mad, the truth exists. I know why you are upset, but I have known your father longer than you have. Trust me when I say that he is trying to do what is best for you. On a related note, do you realize why you lost?"

"Father's Gravekeeper's are annoying?" She answered.

Oberyn grinned at that. "In part. But you also put little thought into your actions. You just kept attacking, even if he had a second stronger monster that could destroy yours."

"You win by getting the other duelist to zero Life Points. Is it not best to take every chance to deal damage?" She asked. In truth that was the main focus of her deck. Summon strong Monsters and find ways to increase their own power.

"There are other ways to deal damage, and they leave you less vulnerable. Take my deck for example. It is made to focus more on effect damage, so even if my foe has stronger monsters, mine can take the hit for me in defense mode while still hurting them."

Arianne looked at him. Oberyn had dueled sparingly, instead focusing on observing the strategies of others. And now he has just revealed how he created his deck.

Oberyn turned around. "Well I better get going. Soon, you may have a different number of family members than you do now."

Ah. Of course. They had heard rumors of someone in Essos claiming to be Uncle's bastard. According to him, the timing fit their age. He was heading to Essos to find out the truth.

Later that day, Arriane and Doran stood by the Sand Snakes and Ellaria Sand, as they waved Oberyn bye on his ship.

The next day, Arriane heard a drunken sailor claim he had seen the ship turn around, and head west instead. She dismissed it as drunken hallucinations in the night.

ESSOS-PENTOS-

VISERYS

The self proclaimed King of Westeros stared at his black hair in annoyance. He knew it was too dangerous to be out of Illyrio's manse by himself. He was not the only child of Valyria in the city, but he figured it was better safe than sorry. He picked up his cup, half wishing it could get him drunk, but alas, that was not where he was.

He was in fact, in a Tea Shop. He had found this place the last time he had gone into the city in disguise. It stood out to him because of its name: The Jasmine Dragon.

From what he had heard the one in charge was a foreigner from even farther east than Yi TI or Assaih. Apparently it was named after another tea shop built by an ancestor of his.

Besides the name, there were two things that drew Viserys here. The first, was the drinks. He was not particularly into tea, but this place claimed to have the hottest drinks in Pentos and Viserys could confirm it. It felt nice to have such heat inside his body. He imagined if it was similar to what a dragon felt constantly.

The second, was this shop having an interesting payment system. Beat a worker in a duel, and you do not have to pay. You even get a free box of three cards. The more expensive your order, the more skilled your opponent. The serving girls dueled for the cheapest tea, and the most expensive meant you duelled the owner or whoever was in charge that day.

Viserys had found it an excellent way to train. Today, he had ordered three cups of tea. The two cheaper ones he won quite easily, but he lost the third one. Apparently a card by the name of Dragon Capture Jar existed. Regardless, he got some nice hot drinks and six new cards to improve his deck with.

Of the six, only two seemed to be of use to Viserys' deck: Tiger Dragon, and Scrap Iron Scarecrow. The other four he put in his pocket for now They may be of use with other cards he was not currently using. He finished his tea, feeling the heat run down his throat one last time before paying for the more expensive tea and made his way back to Illyrio's Manse, taking several detours to make sure he was not followed.

AN: First Chapter of the new year completed.

Going through it section by section:

Arya is still the odd duck among the ladies of Winterfell, but she is going to get a new role model soon.

Mya gets a job to do what she does best. This is how she earns her keep, as she does not know who her father is, but feels she needs to repay the Royce's for caring for her. They get a fraction of her coin payments

Edmure had a deck that represented who he is, but his father turned him into a generic Tully. I remember reading somewhere (Perhaps TV Tropes?) that Hoster Tully was the Tywin of the good guys. Him putting house before Edmure shows that. As you can guess, Edmure's deck is filled with WATER attribute monsters, but some knights and such are also in there.

Rodrick Harlaw gets more respect as strategy is a must in duels. He is unwilling to snitch to the crown, but he disapproves of Balon's rule and is trying to mitigate damages until a solution comes up.

Tywin gets a run down on who Joffrey is as a person. Given Joffrey is only 12, and it's unlikely Tywin could spend much time with him, Tywin is aware that Joffrey is cruel, but he is not aware that Joffrey would hurt/kill his own family. He has a lot to consider moving forward.

Davos witnesses Melisandre's arrival. The appearance of the cards will be spun as R'hllor's work. After all, what better time to introduce a new religion than after a miracle?

Oleana hears about the Margaery-Queen plot, and asks the question I had at the time I first read it-Why focus at all on Robert, when Joff was closer in age. If Robert wanted to unite Stark and Baratheon, someone could convince him to give Myrcella to Robb instead. So Oleana-also unaware of how mad Joffrey is- refocuses efforts on the prince.

Brienne...We do not get much in what is happening in the Stormlands at this point, so I just gave her something to do. Did the Raven hit a storm, or is something else going on?

Arianne...I'm writing a GOT Fic right after The Mandolorian starts up. Did you think I was not gonna bring it up?

Viserys...I just wanted to do an ATLA Shoutout. Even across genres, Iroh has an affect on people who need guidance.

No Idea where I am going to put the next chapter. But leaning towards either more Winterfell or KL.

Will Jon Snow be able to help Kiryu save Kamurocho?

Can Arya convince EMIYA that there is a point to living?

Will Tywin finally dig his way out of that hole with a spoon and stop the Zygons sabotage of the Soviet Union?

Will Robb and his battalion of nobles continue to miss Joffrey because they are fighting with Fire Emblem tactics?

Will Davos be able defeat DIO?

Will Rickon spit out the Red Lantern Ring?

Can Stannis escape Monokuma's clutches?

Will Sansa and Rick be able to rescue Morty?

WILL NED HAVE A POV CHAPTER AGAIN?

For the answers to TWO of these questions, tune in next chapter. For the other Seven (In no particular order): Yes, yes, maybe, its possible, no way, no, even I do not know.


	8. Chapter 8: Meetings, Mayhem, and Mysteries

AN: Here we go with the next chapter. Jumping right into it.

WINTERFELL- COURTYARD

EDDARD

Despite the issue that had brought him here, Ned Stark could not help but smile at the chance to see his younger brother. He rode in on a horse, accompanied by eight of his black brothers. Each rider also had at least one child on the horse with child on Benjen's horse could hardly be called that. She was younger than Jon and Robb for sure, but one could see she matured quickly, If the ravens were true, she was the reason this was all happening.

Two other riders accompanied them, but on their own mounts. One was another girl, whose most striking part of her appearance was her hair. Some of his Bannermen had talked about how his wife and most of his kids had inherited the Tully's red hair. But this girl made their hair look like the classic Stark brown by comparison.

The other rider was the only grown man not wearing black, His hair had some red in it as well, but it was of a darker shade than the girl's, and was mostly replaced by grey. He had a long beard and wore some old tattered chainmail that was probably taken off of a corpse.

Benjen walked up to Ned and the two embraced. Ned thought it had been far too long since they had last seen each other. They both had new packs, but both worried for the other's safety.

Benjen let go and took a step back. "Brother, on behalf of the watch, I thank you for aiding us in this endeavor. I leave our Guests in your capable hands."

Ned nodded and turned to look at the Wildling Man. He knew who he was, though this was their first meeting. Tormund Giantsbane. An infamous Wildling who had been a part of many raids. And killed many Northerners. He was here to protect the other hostages, but everyone would be wary of him.

Tormund came up next. "Lord Stark." He said with an edge on his voice.

"Giantsbane," Ned replied with a similar edge. After a moment of the two staring at each other, evaluating, Ned spoke again. "So then, this is everyone?"

"Aye" Tormund said as he turned around. "The Spearwife with red hair is Ygritte. The lass next to her is Gilly, one of Craster's. My own son Dryn is here as well…" Tormund continued on, naming each child under their shared protection.

Ned walked up to the kids. Even this Ygritte and Gilly were busy staring up at the walls that surrounded them. Ned had been North of the Wall once, as a child. His father took him up there to show him how important the watch was. Considering what he saw, he imagined they had no idea such a castle would even be possible. They had mainly stayed away from castles on the way here, so no overzealous lord could do something Ned would be honor bound to punish them for.

They may have been Wildlings, but right now they were just kids. Memories flashed before Ned. Of other children who he should of hated based on their blood. Of how he demanded justice for the children of his enemies.

"Hello there." Ned spoke to the assembled children. "My name is Eddard Stark. While you are here, you shall be under my protection. No undue harm shall come to you. You have my word on that."

He turned and pointed at his sons, who were still standing where they were before.

"Those two, they are my sons. Jon and Robb. I have another son, Bran is about all your age. If you have any problems, see if they can help you out."

Ned motioned towards Jory who walked up. "This is Jory, one of the men in charge of the guards. He and his men will be showing you all to your rooms."

With that, Jory led the Wildlings to where they were staying. It was a storehouse currently not in use for the Summer, separated from the main castle. If they stayed here for Winter, they would have to be moved into the proper chambers, but hopefully they had enough time to get used to them so that by then no one would complain.

THE NEXT DAY

Ned sat in his Solar going over some papers.

The Wildlings had eaten dinner and many were slack-jawed at the food available. They had all started to devour the food the moment they could.

Catelyn and Sansa had both remarked on their lack of manners, only for Arya to point at Rickon-who in terms of manners at dinner, made the Wildling kids look like royalty. Being someone who had to eat and march during war, Ned had little problem with their eating habits.

Despite sitting in the middle of the hall, everyone gave the Wildlings a wide berth. Tormund and the older girl were constantly on edge, and looked at the entrances constantly, Ned could sense that those two had seen battle.

Ending his reminiscing for now, Ned was going back to his workload when Jory knocked and entered.

"Has there been a problem?" Ned asked worried. Had a way to peace been shattered so soon?

"Not a problem as it stands, but we sighted some Riders bearing House Reed colors." Jory explained.

Ned was then reminded of the boy Howland had told him about. He supposed that was a guard they had provided him. Seeing how the Crannogmen tended to stay in their swamps, the fact that he had an escort may have been a sign that Howland liked the boy. He did ask Ned to let him be a guest for awhile.

Then Ned remembered their other guests. A Night's Watch recruit and Wildlings south of the Wall. Nothing good could come from them meeting.

He hurried out of the Solar and returned to the courtyard. He looked around. Jon was chatting with a guard, while the red haired girl-Ygritte-was alone shooting at the archery targets, but had guards keep an eye on her. The other girl appeared to be trying to help with gathering clothes to clean.

Before he could do anything to get the Wildlings out, The Reed Horses came in, between them was….

'THAT is the son of RANDYLL TARLY?' Ned thought at the sight of Sam.

Lord Tarly was well known and respected by any man with military knowledge. To think he would have a son who...was the complete opposite of that, it was the last thing he expected.

Ned was instantly proven wrong.

The real last thing he expected was for Sam to try to dismount the horse, only to slip and get his leg stuck, dangling him upside down while the Reed men tried to calm the horse before it trampled the young Tarly.

While Ned watched in shock, the Wildling girl-Gilly was her name- ran up and tried to help. Once Sam was off the horse, he looked up at her.

"You alright?" Jon asked as he and Ygritte both came running over to see what was happening.

"Oh, nothing too bad. Can't really blame the horse for it." Sam said gently. He then looked back at the person who came to help him, only to go slack-jawed with nervousness when he saw it was a girl. Meanwhile Ygritte seemed to stifle a laugh as Jon helped Sam up.

Ned looked at the scene before him. Something about it made his heart filled with hope, while another thing about it simultaneously filled his mind with worry.

KING'S LANDING- STREET OF SILK

BAELISH

Baelish walked out of Chataya's brothel, feigning a look of defeat.

He had just been refused in his offer to buy the brothel from Chataya, even offering to let her keep running the day-to-day issues. But it was no matter. He may be known for his wealth, but what was public was only a fraction of his true worth. He could afford to buy her out, but to do so would be to foolishly reveal just HOW much money he had access to. Which would then draw unwanted questions as to the origins of such money.

'How things have changed.' Baelish mused to himself. He had started out as the poorest a noble could be, and now he was almost ready to start climbing the ladder of Chaos once again.

That was not even getting into the cards! NO ONE could have predicted those. But he made it work for him. He now owned several shops that sold them, and he made sure to get first pickings when new ones appeared overnight. Some cards he just took, not to use them, but to keep others from having them. That had eventually led to him crafting two decks at once. He kept both on his person, but only ever used one. It was filled with powerful monsters he would have a hard time summoning, making it almost guaranteed he would be dismissed as a non-threat.

He was walking back to the Red Keep. He suddenly heard a commotion when he reached the Street of the Sisters. On the southern way, which he had been planning on walking down, there was some yelling and a crowd forming. He overheard that one of that Septon's followers had returned to the capital, and was either fleeing or fighting the Gold Cloaks. He had apparently persuaded some more of the less fortunate to the Septon's cause. Someone muttered that the man's head was bleeding.

Deciding he did not want to be caught up in the confusion there, he would have to make a quick journey through Flea Bottom in order to reach Aegon's Way, then head to King's Square, and then the Dragon's Way to reach the Red Keep.

It would not be the first time Baelish had gone through there, but it was the most dangerous section of the city. He would have to be careful.

He made his way through the maze of alleys that made up Flea Bottom. He passed no less than five shops selling Bowls of Brown.

He had enough spies even here that they were able to warn him. One saw him and jerked his head to the left, so Baelish took the left path, another faked a trip when he was about to walk down a certain alley.

In only a few minutes, he was almost out of Flea Bottom.

That was when he was tackled.

He felt a sudden force hit him from the side, and they both went flying into a doorway. The assailant ran up to the door and closed it, blocking the only exit big enough for use.

After a moment of catching his breath and feeling blood drip from his cheek, Baelish looked up at the man who deigned to strike him.

He was a man of average size, hair that could be called blonde if not for all the dirt in it, and some rags that could barely be considered clothing.

It took him a minute, but Baelish recognized him. He was another brothel owner, who styled himself Pate the Generous. He called himself it, because his was the cheapest brothel in King's Landing.

Which might have been a good business strategy, if not for several flaws: It was a brothel in the middle of the poorest section of the city, so the locals could barely afford it. It also meant that the men not from Flea Bottom would have to risk being robbed on their way-something that many of his own clientele had complained about when looking for it. Either that or being unable to even find it in the maze. There was also a grand total of four whores: His daughter, his wife, his sister, and his mother. None of them had wanted to become whores, but Pate was violent enough that they had no choice.

Baelish had once briefly considered buying his place, but the above reasons made him decide against it. It would be unlikely to make him enough money to be worth the effort.

"Nowhere to run you little lord." Pate said with a grin, which only showed how many teeth he was missing- ten by Baelish's count.

"Pate the Generous. I did not expect you. I take it the flesh peddling business has been less lucrative for you than for me?" Baelish responded, his normal tone returning once he had an idea of what was going on.

"It's all your fault Littlefinger! My wife took all the ornaments that were worth something, and ran off with the others." He yelled at the lord.

"How is any of that my fault?" Baelish asked. Would he steal whores from other brothel's? Yes. Had he in this case? No.

"If you weren't in the business, then me and some others would be getting rich. Instead you are taking all the coin for yourself." Pate said, readying his duel disk.

Several other brothels had closed down. If Baelish saw potential, he would buy it up, but if they were failing, then he would stay away. Obviously he was referring to those whose owners he had either failed or he had removed.

"So then, you are going to kill me, then the other owners will try to buy up my brothels. They all get more money, and I'm guessing they will reward you for getting me out of the way?" Baelish reached into his left pocket of his breeches. He pulled out the deck that he had kept hidden. This would be its first official use. Before, he would have to play against himself, using his public deck as the opponent.

"Aye, you made my job easy. I was gonna stake out your place on the Street of Silk, then ambush you when I saw you be alone. Did not expect to see you here." Pate explained his luck.

Putting his deck inside the disk, Baelish activated it at the same time as Pate. "Well then, apologies, but that will be the last instance of luck in your life."

"Oh please, even down here, we all hear about how pathetic your deck is." Pate said with a laugh as the Duel began.

B:4000 P:4000

"My move then." Pate said as he drew a card. "I summon Headless Knight!"

A suit of armor appeared on the field. Despite its name, it was not just headless, but lacked any flesh at all, instead it glowed as if possessed.

"That's it for now." Pate ended his turn. His face smug as if the monster he had summoned had already killed him.

'I see why his business failed.' Baelish thought at the sight of such a simple turn.

"My turn.' Baelish drew. He looked at his hand: Zera the Mant, Big Eye, Graceful Charity, Invader of Darkness, Samsara, and Angel Trumpeter.

"I play Graceful Charity, I can draw three cards by discarding two."

He discarded Zera The Mantand, Big Eye.

"Now I play the card I just drew: Pre-Preparation of Rites! Now I can bring Final Ritual of the Ancients, and Reshef the Dark Being to my deck from the hand. Now I play Final Ritual. By sacrificing Invader of Darkness, I can bring forth Resef!"

A tablet appeared on Baelish's side. When he placed the monster card in the Graveyard, light went from the card and into the tablet. It caused the tablet to glow in a symbol, only for the light to turn solid as something resembling the symbol appeared to float out of the tablet.

Resef was a being made of golden metal. Three orbs: Blue, Yellow and Red, separated his arms and head from his body. He had no legs, but he floated over the ground.

"Now then, I activate his ability. By discarding my Spell card Samsara, He can force your Headless knight to come to my side."

Resef fired a beam of light from its three orbs. The white energy around Headless Knight turned gold to match Resef's. It then jumped onto Baelish's side of the field.

"Now then, If I attack you right now, I can bring you down to 50 Life Points. Luckily I have this: Monster Reborn! It allows me to bring one monster from the Grave to my side of the field. And I choose my Invader of Darkness!"

The ground below the field broke up, as some man-like creature cloaked in black climbed out. It had a golden body and its head looked more like a skull.

"It's unfortunate really. After I heard your story of betrayal, I considered finishing you off with Headless Knight. Unfortunately the math does not allow for that. Resef attack!"

Once again Resef fired light from its orbs. The blasted off Pate's legs and right arm. He screamed in pain.

B:4000 P:1500

"Now Headless Knight, attack as well!"

The ghostly Knight went up to its former master, and cut off the left arm that held the Duel Disk.

B:4000 P:50

"Now then, Invader, go for the kill!"

Invader walked up to what was left of Pate. It opened its cloak and ripped of Pates head. It then sucked Pate's head inside of it. His chest and limbs also were sucked inside of the darkness,

After the monsters faded from existence, Baelish walked up to the Duel Disk. The building repaired itself as the duel ended. The only proof of Pate's presence was his disk and deck.

Baelish picked up the disk and removed the deck. He skimmed through it before putting it in his pocket. He removed his own Duel Disk, returning it to wherever it went, and then put Pate's on. He walked out of the building. No one was in sight. If they had been, then they may have tried to watch the duel.

Baelish walked out of the building and continued on his way to the Red Keep.

'Looks like I must be more careful. And I have some people who need to disappear.' Baelish mentally began making a list of which brothels were doing bad, and whose owners would likely be the ones Pate would work with.

MEANWHILE- STILL KING'S LANDING

Varys

Varys took the note from the child. He gave him some candy that he kept in his robes as payment.

Once in a safe place he opened the note. It was a message from Illyrio. Varys had been forced to lower their rate of contact, but he was aware of Illyrio's situation.

Illyrio opened the note, it was written in a code they had made when they started working together. Expecting a regular update, he began translating only to be shocked by what it truly said.

'This must be a mistake.' Varys thought. He reread it, only to get the same thing.

Desperate, he wrote down the code and translated it piece by piece. He was right the first time.

After taking a few minutes to get over the panic attack he was having, Varys began coding his reply

'HOW EXACTLY DOES A DRAGON EGG CHANGE COLOR?'

Varys found another boy working in the Red Keep, and gave the child both the new note and some more candy-he had to remind himself to pick up some more-and returned to his room.

He pondered what work was happening. One of the three dragon eggs Illyrio had bought for Princess Danaerys' wedding had changed color. They had gone from white to red. The other eggs remained Black and Green.

STORMLANDS-STORM'S END

BRIENNE

Brienne had purchased a horse once she reached land and started making for Storm's End. She had reached there after only a few hours. Once she was at the gates she announced herself and soon Ser Cortnay Penrose was standing before her.

"Lady Brienne, to what do we owe your visit?" He said with an amiable smile. While her attempts to be a knight were seen by many as foolish, several lords and knights had gotten used to her, and as such treated her somewhat better.

"My father sent me. We have been dealing with pirates and in the past, Storm's end would often at the very least respond. Yet this castle has been silent." She explained.

Cornay's face went pale for a bit and then he cursed under his breath.

"I was afraid of this. In truth, or Maester had mentioned a few days ago how we received fewer ravens than usual, and some had never returned."

Brienne took a moment to absorb this news.

"Are you saying-"

"That someone has likely been shooting the ravens out of the sky? Aye. Given that none are reaching us, we can only assume they are nearby. If it's as serious as you claim, then we have no choice but to ride out in force to find them. Hopefully it is just one, but given the directions ravens fly in, its likely multiple foes."

AN: So I hit my first snag here.

As I stated at the beginning, I had not played in awhile. When I did, I did not use Ritual monsters very often. As such, I originally had Baelish use Monster Reborn on Zera, and then had Zera eat Pate, but I double checked and it would not have worked unless Zera had already been summoned. So if Invader of Darkness' sucking Pate into the void seemed weird, it's because I had to dispose of the body somehow.

Speaking of unique summonings, I have been meaning to mention this, but I keep forgetting to do characters that would actually use it.

EXTRA DECKS

The way I am handling extra decks are as such: If a fusion has specific monsters needed, then having a fusion card plue said monsters will grant you ownership of that card. Example: Jon has the fusion material cards for Flame Swordsman, and he has Polymerization. So if he plays Polymerization, Flame Swordsman's card will be spat out of his Duel Disk.

If a fusion has a more general requirement, then you need the physical card. So just because you have a bunch of dragons in your deck does not mean you automatically get Five Headed Dragon.

Thinking of handling Synchros and XYZs the same way. So Junk Synchron will let you get Junk Warrior, but Stardust Dragon is out somewhere in the world. (These are just examples, I may never introduce them to the story).

XYZs do not require specific materials, so they will all be physical. (I know Utopia has several additional forms, but it's been awhile so I will have to do more research into them to make a decision).

Regarding the Chapter:

Ned has welcomed the Free Folk into Winterfell. Everyone is on edge, but wants everything to work out. Sam finally reaches Winterfell, and immediately meets Gilly. How will Ned react to his tale?

Baelish gets a OTK to show how dangerous he is when he wants to be. Also, the monsters were about the same size as people because they were indoors. Had the duel taken place outside, then Resef would have been larger.

Varys gets some news almost as strange as if the eggs had hatched.

Brienne finds herself involved in a larger issue than she had thought. An intentional attack on the ruling house's ancestral home.

Now for the deck review: ARYA: I normally stay away from archetypical decks, preferring to combine different cards that can still work well together but I thought this one made too much sense for her.

Arya's extra deck does not follow much of a pattern, instead being made of spare cards Theon, Robb, Bran and Jon gave her. So it can be considered an amalgamation of those four.

Notable Cards: Berserk Gorilla, Ante, Armored Starfish, and Des Volstgaph

Her real deck however, is an Amazoness deck, with some additional beasts or warriors

Notable Cards: Sky Scout, Amazoness Tiger, Skull Mark Ladybug, D.D Warrior Lady

Next Chapter: We check out how the Westerlands are doing.


	9. Chapter 8: Sense of Foreboding

AN: Apologies for the delay, but I now have a surplus of two chapters. I will try to post them on weekends.

Alright then, onto the next leg of this story. Also, fixed a minor issue no one seems to have caught in chapter 6. I said Ser Boros Blount joined the KG when I was thinking Balon Swann. It is now fixed.

WESTERLANDS-LANNISPORT-BROTHEL

TYRION

Tyrion laid down on top of three naked women as they all rested from the rather...vigorous work out they just had.

'Honestly, why can't life just be like this?' Tyrion thought to himself. Of course he knew why. It would be rather boring if he JUST had whores to fuck. He may do things to excess-such as fucking, drinking and reading- but when he got bored of the monotony of one, he had others things he could do an excess of. Many of his best times in Casterly Rock's library had been either preceded or succeeded by trips to his favorite brothels.

After that rest and getting dressed, Tyrion exited the spacious room to the main hall where Jyck and Morrec were. At the sight of their lord the two stood up and accompanied Tyrion out of the brothel.

'Might as well see any new cards they have.' Tyrion decided. Instead of going up the path to Casterly Rock, he made for a section of shops near the brothel.

While Tyrion had hardly lost a duel since the cards had first been declared safe, he found himself unable to find cards that really fit with him. He had tried many different combinations.

He had tried a straight power deck, filled with monsters relatively easy to summon when taking their Attack Points into consideration. He had tried a deck based on removing your opponent's deck to cause a deck out win. He had even experimented around with a deck designed to stop his opponents from ever using their trap and spell cards.

Every one of them had brought him nothing but victory. Yet at the same time, they all felt wrong, like that time he had been forced to wear Jaime's old clothes from when he was a child as a dare. They technically fit, but they were so uncomfortable he was glad to be rid of them.

As they entered the shop, he allowed himself to look at the display cases and wonder at how it all worked. He reached out to touch a card, but was unable to grab it. It would remain so until he paid the price listed under it.

As it was for all the cards. The one Merchant ware that was immune to thievery. No one could explain it-or anything else about the cards, but Tyrion would bet money the Citadel had Maesters working without rest to try to uncover every mystery connected to them.

As he perused the available cards, he made a mental list of all the ones he already had.

'No worthwhile traps that I don't already have. Spell cards are good on their own but not sure any would fit my current deck. As for monsters….'

Tyrion's eyes fell on one card.

'Ah, this would work wonders.'

He approached the man in charge of the shop today-the owner's son or nephew perhaps- and showed him which card he was interested in. After exchanging the gold needed, he threw in some silvers for some of the boxes. Tyrion enjoyed the gambling aspect of them. Not knowing what was in the box until later.

As they exited the shop, Tyrion found himself at the edge of a crowd of people surrounding a man standing on a pile of rocks-probably there for some work on a building that was being fixed.

"The gods have gifted us with a way to finally be free! Lords have long maintained their power through the loyalty of heretics who prefer the pleasures of flesh over those of the soul. They take better weapons and armor and ways of fighting and keep them to themselves, only aiding us when they have need for us. But now we have a way to fight these impious lords who grow fat off of the labor of our work! Where is your pride? Think of where you will be in ten-no five years. Tywin Lannister will rot in one of the Seven Hells for all his sins, and a twisted demon-monkey will be the monster you all obey! Can true believers of the Seven, really be underneath such a degenerate, who should have never been born?"

At the start, there had been some who looked like they agreed with the man. Mostly the sailors or merchants who came from outside the Westerlands. But for every one of those, there were five who looked at him just for entertainment. By the time he started to talk about Tywin's death, the crowd had started to disperse.

It was one thing to rage against all lords, but to specifically insult the Lord of Casterly Rock in LANNISPORT of all places...the poor fool was practically guaranteed a long death. Either that or pray to the Seven that he had a good enough deck to escape.

'This must be one of that Septon's followers. The fool is just going to get them all killed if this is the best he can come up with.' With the High Septon declaring the upstart as someone perverting the Light of the Seven for his own gain, the vast majority of the faith was against him. He was lucky to have escaped King's Landing with the few idiots who thought to join him.

Having nothing left to do, Tyrion and his men returned to their steads and started riding back to Casterly Rock.

Along the way, Tyrion would spot the occasional Lanny or Lantell, but none called out to greet him. He was used to it. They were but distant kin, and while his height may drag his standing in society down with it, he was still a mountain higher than those families. After leaving the city and heading North, Tyrion looked back on a whim and saw a ship approaching the Harbor. That would not be so strange except for the sigil on the ship's mast. Three Black Scorpions on red.

'What is a ship belonging to house Qorgyle doing in the Westerlands?' Tyrion thought to himself.

Officially-or as official as it can be while maintaining the appearance of peace-the feud between Dorne and the Westerlands was only between Houses Martell and Lannister. But, the houses sworn to either would not usually risk not taking the same stance as their lord.

Racking his brain, Tyrion recalled the Qorgyle family tree. If he was remembering right, Lord Qorgyle had been fostered in the Reach with the current Lord Kenning. Perhaps he was visiting his old friend. That relationship started before the feud, so Prince Doran likely would not feel insulted from his banner having good relations with a western lord.

After half an hour of leisurely riding, they reach Casterly Rock. Once back home, Tyrion dismisses Jyck and Morrec for now and heads to the library. Once there, he pulls out a book he had almost finished and sat down to read.

RIVERLANDS-RIVERRUN

EDMURE

"So Patrek, I hear you had to cross the Twins on business. Can we expect a wedding invitation?" The future lord of Riverrun asked his friend as he greeted him by the gate.

"Jest all you want, but I managed to escape with my self unwed. Can't say the same for everyone the Late Lord invites to a private meal." The knight told his friend.

"So how did you then? Your right behind me in terms of possible husbands for noble ladies in the Riverlands." Edmure inquired in a slightly more serious manner.

"Old Frey has been shaken off his usual ways. Apparently nothing is going right for the house. That Septon who came through here? He apparently took almost the last third of Walder's male succession with him."

Edmure stopped and looked at him. "What did you just say?"

"Out of Lord Frey's fifty something legitimate male descendents named Frey, the fifteen boys or men farthest from becoming Lord left with the Septon."

Edmure looked at his friend. "Why am I just hearing about this NOW?" He demanded to know.

"Probably because anyone who would be able to talk with you about it would know to avoid the Twins altogether. Though Lord Frey did say he sent a raven here."

'Damn you Father' Edmure thought and immediately felt guilty. That was the last thing he wanted, but right now it was how he felt. With Father stuck in his bed chambers, it fell on Edmure to rule in his name. Keeping things from him would just make it harder.

Edmure sighed and tried to calm down. "Did Lord Frey say anything else that I should know about?"

"Aye, and it ties back to the Septon as well. Apparently Walder's grandson Zachery-he's in Oldtown training to be a Septon himself- has fallen in with the Septon's teachings. It's a minority now, but there are people of the Faith who follow him in almost every Sept. Zachery was apparently part of convincing his half siblings and uncles and cousins. After they all left, they found letters from Zachery to each of them. Same as Luceon, one of the Most Devout, though his letters were more for the older Freys while Zachery spoke to the younger ones."

Edmure sighed. "Can we come up with a better name for him than just 'The Septon'? Sometimes it gets really confusing who we talk about."

"He does have another nickname apparently. It is what his followers refer to him as." Patreck revealed.

"Oh, what is it? Has he taken to styling himself the True High Septon?" He quipped, but his heart was not into it.

"Not quite but surprisingly close. His followers call him the High Sparrow. But another name that is less popular is the Divine Duelist."

THE REACH-HIGHGARDEN

MARGAERY

"Grandmother was shouting up a storm. I take it you know why?" Willas asked his sister.

Margaery sighed, "Honestly, I have no idea. Did Father come up with another idea that she claims is idiotic?"

"No, in fact father just had to leave earlier today. Something about one of that Septon's followers hiding out in a winery. He and Garland left to try to catch him."

"Don't tell me Mother said something to upset her." Margaery said.

"No idea. All I know is she is complaining about anything to everyone who will hear her. And as her son is the Lord, anyone who ignores her can be seen as insulting her." Willas explained.

Margaery got a better look at her brother. He had his amiable smile, but he was rubbing his lame leg, which he tended to do while deep in thought.

"Anything troubling you Brother?" She asked.

Willas sighed. "It's nothing much, just been awhile since I last got correspondence from Oberyn. Wondering what is taking so long."

Margaery looked confused. "Did you not here? Apparently his daughters are more numerous than even he thought. Is he not on his way to get another bastard and bring her back?"

"That is the thing, Sister." Willas said. "I have been friends with that man for years. Ever since we started our companionship, he has told me about each of his daughters. But this time? I hear about it from Grandmother's gossip. Something is not right."

STORMLANDS-STORM'S END

BRIENNE

"Ready to head out, lady Brienne?" Ser Cortnay asked her as they readied their horses.

"Aye Ser." Brienne responded.

By taking stock of which ravens were still making it into the castle, the Maester had found that the majority of them were coming in from the south. A force of knights was dispatched southward, and would approach from the west to hunt down the rogues responsible. Meanwhile Ser Cortnay and her would ride east to catch them in between the two forces.

"I hope it is just some thieves with delusions of grandeur. If it is an actual organized force, then we may not be able to ensure your safety My Lady." Ser Cortnay explained.

"I know Ser, but I came to find what was keeping you from responding, and if this keeps up, who knows what chaos is happening in the rest of the Stormlands."

"Too true my Lady. All we can do is pray." Ser Cortnay said before turning to the rest of the mounted knights, preparing them to head out.

FOUR DAYS LATER-KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP-KING'S SOLAR

ROBERT

"And then, Ned grabbed a smaller hammer, and chased me around the Eyrie for three straight hours!" Robert said amidst his own laughter only for Tommen to laugh as well while Myrcella just smiled.

He had taken to inviting his kids to his solar when there was no urgent business, so he could regal them with stories of his youth, duel them, or just spend time. He had even tried to invite Cersei, but she always refused. Joffrey had also yet to come. Robert feared he had failed the boy already.

"Is he really your best friend?" Tommen asked.

"Aye. There is not a man I trust more than Ned Stark. I wonder what he's up to right now. Probably something boring and tedious that honor demands he do himself." Robert mused.

MEANWHILE-WINTERFELL-MAIN HALL

EDDARD

"PULL HARDER TORMUND!" Ned yelled at the Wildling as he held Rickon's left leg. Tormund was holding his right.

"I'M PULLING STARK!" Tormund yelled back.

On the other side, Jon, Catelyn, Sansa, Hodor, Ygritte, and Theon were holding onto Samwell Tarly, pulling him as well. Despite their combined strength, Rickon's jaws remained firmly clenched on Sam's arm.

"RICKON, LISTEN TO ME, SAM IS NOT MEAT. YOU CANNOT EAT HIM!" Jon yelled at Rickon, Sam's screams having subsided into quieter whimpers.

"HOW IS A THREE YEAR OLD THIS STRONG?" Robb said as he and Gilly attempted to open Rickon's mouth up enough to loosen his hold.

BACK TO KING'S LANDING-KING'S SOLAR

ROBERT

"Yup, no doubt it something honorable. That man.." Robert mused with a chuckle.

"If you ever need help and I am gone, see if you can send him a message. He will do everything in his power to help you."

A knock on the door sounded.

"Enter." Robert barked.

The door opened to reveal the younger of his two squires, Tyrek Lannister.

"Pardon, Your Grace, but the Lord Hand says that an emergency meeting of the small council is to take place soon. He said to inform you.

'Always something.' Robert mused in thought.

"Alright then. Tommen, Myrcella, sorry to cut this short, but a King's work is never done. Ser Boros, escort the Prince and Princess back to their chambers."

Ser Boros nodded and stood by the two children as Robert left with Tyrek and Sers Moore and Oakheart.

Robert looked at his squire. "Where is your cousin, or is he brother? Honestly there are so many lions here it's hard to keep track of the ones not also stags. But I do not think I have seen him much recently. He does have duties as a squire."

Tyrek gulped in nervousness. "Cousin, Your Grace. Lancel has been praying. He did so before, but after the cards appeared he appeared to have some religious awakening."

Robert nodded. "Ah, well next time you see him, remind him he still has duties to others as well as the Seven. Wouldn't be fair if he puts all the work on your shoulders."

Robert walked into the Small Council, just as Stannis, Baelish and Varys were about to sit down. The three stood upon seeing him. Ser Barristan raced in from the white tower, and took a stand by Robert's chair. After another few minutes, Pycelle, Jon, and Renly came in. Jon's face showed panic and worry, while Pycelle's showed a mixture of rage and fear.

"Alright Jon, what is so urgent?" Robert asked his Hand and father figure.

Jon looked at him, the emotions on his face evident for all to see.

"I am afraid...that a declaration of war has been issued."

"WHAT?" Robert said in shock. Stannis, Renly, and Littlefinger joining in the shock based on their faces "Has Viserys Targaeryn managed to raise an army so quickly? Varys, I thought you said the Dothraki had been exterminated!"

Varys looked at Robert, confusion on his face. Apparently even he did not know what Jon was talking about.

"My birds did not lie to me, the Dothraki have either been crushed or scattered too far to band together. I have heard nothing of Viserys gaining any more swords to his claim."

"It was not Viserys." Jon said, his voice hard but brittle. "The raven came from Casterly Rock."

THREE DAYS AGO - CASTERLY ROCK-TYWIN'S BEDCHAMBERS.

TYWIN

Tywin Lannister entered his bedchamber after a long day of work in both his solar and hall. He had done everything from approving of marriages for the many Lannister branches, to approving of merchants coming to help restock Casterly Rock's stores.

It was a hot summer night, and Tywin had experiences of waking up from the heat on such nights, so he ordered a bucket filled from one of the water wells inside Casterly Rock and brought up to him. He took a goblet and filled it with the bucket. He then took a long gulp of the cool water as he prepared to go to bed.

As expected less than four hours later, he did end up waking from his dreamless sleep. But it was not the heat that awoke him. Instead, it was the sound of something hitting his door and then the door opening.

When he was fully cognizant, he looked at the open door to see the guard's body on the ground, with the person who had opened the door standing by his bed.

Standing above him, in the garb of a merchant, was Oberyn Martell, Duel Disk visible, and drinking out of his goblet.

"Ah, Lord Tywin. I would apologize for the disturbance, but then again, The Mountain did not when you ordered him to kill my sister and her children."

AN: And there is where we leave off this chapter. You can guess what is going to happen next chapter.

Originally this chapter was just Tyrion-Robert-Ned-Tywin. I added the other POVs to lengthen it out, but tried to keep a theme in each. Except for the Winterfell one. That was meant to mirror a favorite scene from an anime.

So now, we move to start a war.

Please leave a review.

Join us next chapter for:

TYWIN V OBERYN


	10. Chapter 9: Title: "Spoiler"

AN: Just a quick thing, cards that involve Life Points more suited for 8000 LP games will be cut in half in order to fit better. Alright then, time to jump right into the story.

WESTERLAND'S-CASTERLY ROCK-TYWIN'S BEDCHAMBER

TYWIN

Tywin stared at the man standing over him. His guard appeared to be either unconscious or dead at the door. He was alone with the one man with the most reason in the world to hate him.

Tywin's combat training-largely unused since the days of his youth-suddenly jumped back to his mind, taking control of his body. He rolled out of his bed to the opposite end and jumped to his feet. He had slept on top of the bed instead of actually in it due to the heat, so there was nothing to obstruct his movements.

Once he had his feet on the ground he turned to the intruder and kept him right in his sights.

"Prince Martell, I take it you of all people know how serious a crime it is to sneak into a Lord's chambers. Despite your rank, I can have you arrested for such an act."

'Though from what I hear you are no stranger to doing so.'

The Dornish Prince seemed to chuckle. His face had the look of a hunter who had caught the prey they had spent days stalking.

"We agree that a punishment is required Lord Tywin. But it is you who shall face the consequences of far more serious crimes. I will relish watching you die."

Tywin surveyed the room. He was closer to the door, but he would in no way be able to outrun the younger man. He doubted the guard at the door was the only one Oberyn had dealt with to get here.

"What of my man at the door. I believe he would have been about ten when the alleged crimes took place. Do you claim he deserved to die with me?"

"Ha, don't try to act like we are the same. He is not even dead. He and other guards ate and drank several herbs and potions of mine. They are all asleep. I could not risk one guard being too large for poison to finish off quickly. But by putting them to sleep, the guards can get blamed for sleeping on duty instead of someone finding their dead bodies and causing a scene before I could kill you."

'So, the night guards are likely all in a similar state.' Tywin thought to himself.

"And did you manage all of this by yourself? I take it you were on the Qorgyle ship?"

"Enough of this stalling Tywin! I came here to avenge Elia and her children, not to explain how I planned everything out." Oberyn exploded as he raised his Disk.

"I see then. Not here though, there is another place where we can have less risk of interruption. If you can kill me without being seen, then Dorne is simply a suspect. If you are caught, then it means war." Tywin pointed out to his foe.

"Ah, you mean the mines that make up Casterly Rock's underground? Very well then. I remember the way, so no trying to trick me into going into a more populated area." Oberyn said with a smirk.

And so, Tywin found himself leading his own assassin deep into the depths of Casterly Rock. They almost ran into some patrols-likely those who had managed to avoid Oberyn's tampering with the food, such as those who were covering for other guards or who had eaten with family before their shift. Oberyn had covered his mouth and pulled him into a corner at those points. Eventually they made it all the way down to the First Mine. Oberyn made him go even deeper than the entrance to ensure privacy. They ended up in a large cavern easily big enough for a small keep to fit in, even if just barely.

Tywin continued to walk into the cavern, while Oberyn stayed by the sole exit.

"Well then Tywin, are you ready to face justice?" Oberyn yelled out as his Disk activated.

Tywin pulled out his own Disk and deck as well. "The only justice here will be me paying my debt to you for this foolish attempt on my life."

DUEL BEGIN

T:4000 O:4000

"Since I had less time to prepare, I shall go first." Tywin declared as he drew. He looked at the six cards in his hand.

"I play a monster face down, and set two cards. That is all for now." Tywin said as the cards materialized on the field.

"Very well then, my turn!" Oberyn said as he drew a card.

"I summon Achacha Archer!" An Archer appeared on the field, he wore a knight's helm and armor underneath a yellow tunic. The armor was accentuated with red.

"Now then, since he was normal summoned, he can deal 500 damage to you right away!"

Achacha Archer loosed an arrow that Tywin managed to largely avoid, instead having it nick his arm, only for the wound to start burning.

"Now then, since I dealt effect damage to you, I can special summon Achacha Chanbara!"

Another warrior of fire appeared on the field. This one had black hair and also hid behind a mask, it drew two swords Tywin thought looked similar to some foreign blades he had once saw, and a red robe covered the monster.

"Since he was special summoned, he deals another 400 damage to you!" Oberyn revealed.

Achacha Chanbara ran up to Tywin and struck him in the other arm. His Duel Disk prevented actual physical injury, but the heat was still present.

T: 3100 O:4000

"Now then Achacha Archer, attack his face down!"

The Archer let loose another arrow, only for it to shatter on impact and the arrowhead goes back and pierces Oberyn himself.

Oberyn looked at the monster that had been flipped up. It was made entirely of stones, mostly green but solid blue lines of stones as well. It had orange eyes and hands open.

"That would be my Stone Statue of the Aztecs. Any damage you recieve from attacking it ends up being doubled." Tywin explained.

T:3100 O:2400

Oberyn growled at his turn being turned against him. But his vengeance was not lost yet.

"I may have to end the battle phase, but I use the spell card Fissure! This destroys the monster you control with the lowest Attack!"

A hole opened up under Stone Statue, and it fell in before the hole closed up.

"I end my turn." Oberyn said.

"My move then." Tywin declared as he drew. 'Judging by that turn, it appears that his deck focuses on inflicting minor but consistent damage over time, rather than just trying to overpower my monsters. On the one hand that means he is unlikely to destroy my defenses, but if I can not win quickly, his chance for victory gets closer.'

He looked at the cards in his hand. 'I have two, I may be able to pull this off.

"First I activate my trap card, Jar of Greed. It allows me to draw once more." A red and gold jar with a smirking face appeared on the field, only to fade away. Tywin drew his card. 'Another. Good, I just need to stall for a bit longer.'

"Now then, I set another monster face down, and end my turn."

"My move then!" Oberyn said as he drew. "I summon Archfiend Interceptor!" A man in a strange outfit appeared. He seemed to be wearing some sort of armor underneath his top layer of clothing, and his helmet was not made of metal. But his main characteristic was his six arms.

Next, I shall equip it with Axe of Fools!" A misshapen axe made of dark wood that glowed red appeared in front of Interceptor. He grabbed it with two of his arms.

"Now then, his axe now raises his attack by 1000! Now Interceptor, attack his set monster."

Interceptor threw the axe, only for a shield to appear and deflect it back, Oberyn ended up getting hit by a splinter on the axe.

T: 3100 O: 2200

Oberyn looked at the monster that had defended Tywin. It was a warrior with long black hair, but his most eye catching trait was the giant shield he was hiding behind.

"So, you use Big Shield Gardna? I see, unfortunately for you, I have faced it in the past, now that it has been attacked, it must go into attack mode, leaving you almost defenseless."

Big Shield Gardna started to move, only to have chains wrap around it, keeping it in defense mode.

"Not if my other trap card, Fiendish Chain can help it. This card negates the effects of one monster on the field, and I chose BIg Shield Gardna, leaving him in defense mode." Tywin explained.

Oberyn growled again at the field before him. 'I already used Fissure, and I only have two or three monsters that could actually destroy it now. I have to focus on effect damage in order to win. You will know the pain Elia and her children felt in their last moments Tywin.'

"My move then." Tywin said as he drew. "I play Pot of Greed, this card allows me to draw two more times." Tywin looked at the two new cards as he added them to his hand.

"I play one card face down and play another Pot of Greed that the first one let me draw!" again he drew two cards.

'Four, I am so close. And I just drew the perfect card to end this.'

He grabbed two cards-one he had in his hand and had held back for a way to stall, and one he just drew.

"First I summon this monster in defense mode, now I play Swords of Revealing Light!"

Stalagmites fell from the top of the mine, turning into beams of light before falling and pinning Oberyn's monsters as their shape solidified into swords.

"This spell card prevents you from attacking for three turns. That is it for now."

'Good, now I just need to wait and victory is assured.'

"My move then" Oberyn declared as he drew and looked at his hand and field.

"Unfortunately, Due to Axe of Fools, I lose 500 life points." Oberyn explained.

Archfiend Interceptor started acting bored and swung the axe around to entertain itself, only to accidently toss it at Oberyn, who moved out of the way, only to fall backwards and hit his head.

T:3100 O:1700

"I activate Card of Sanctity, so now we draw until we have six cards in our hands."

Oberyn drew four cards while Tywin drew two.

Neither were what Tywin was hoping for.

Oberyn on the other hand, began to laugh.

"How fitting. I sacrifice my Achacha monsters, in order to summon Cataclysmic Scorching Sunburner!"

The two Achachas burst into flame. A giant creature with red skin and four arms arose from their ashes. It wore a blue coat tied around its waist, and had yellow markings evoking flames on its arms. In one of its right hands, it held a sword made of flame.

"This is the strongest monster I have in my deck. But even so, it is not enough. At least, not by itself. Good thing I have this! Big Bang Shot!"

Suddenly, Sunburner was EVEN MORE ON FIRE! Its attack was raised all the way up to 3000.

"I end my turn for now." Oberyn declared.

"Very well then." Tywin said as he drew.

'That sunburner is going to be a problem for now. I have nothing I can use to destroy or even stop it after the swords disappear in two turns.'

The cards in his hand he could afford to play were: Counter Gate, Charcoal Inpachi, and Megalosmasher X. None of the monsters he had could destroy Interceptor, let alone Sunburner.

'At the very least, my Life Points are safe for now, and I can still build up my defenses.'

"I play another monster in defense mode, and place this card face down as well." Tywin said for a second time.

"My move then." Oberyn once again declared as he drew.

"Ha! Two can play at your game Tywin. I play my own Pot of Greed to draw more cards." Oberyn did so and his face lit up.

"Hahaha! The Gods truly due favor me today! Now then. First, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" Oberyn revealed and played the card, causing the Swords that had kept him at bay to dissipate into nothingness.

"Next, I play Dark Snake Syndrome!" Oberyn showed the card as he played it. Suddenly, two snakes crawled out of the card. One slithered onto Tywin, poised to inject its venom into his throat. The other went onto Oberyn, who let it crawl and rest on his neck like an entertainer.

"It is quite simple. When it is my next move, we shall both be bit and take 200 damage. My turn after that, 400. And on and on until the poison kills one of us. But it will not get that far. I did not show you what other cards I had drawn last turn. I activate Cursed Bill! And it shall be equipped to your Gardna."

A piece of parchment attached itself to Gardna's shield.

"It has a special ability. When the monster it is equipped to falls, it deals damage to the owner equal to it's defense. In addition, Big Bang Shot deals battle damage equal to the difference between Sunburner's attack and your defense. Now then, Sunburner, Destroy his Gardna once and for all!"

Sunburner used its flaming sword to melt straight through Garna's shield, and melting Garda along with it. Suddenly, the Parchment flew up to Tywin, and he was compelled to touch and read it. Only for a burning sensation to travel throughout his body. He was barely able to keep from screaming.

...For all of five seconds.

After that, he involuntarily let out a scream that nigh on twenty years ago, he had heard semi-regularly.

The sound of a man burning to death.

When his senses returned to him, Tywin was on the floor. Looking at his skin, he saw that his entire body was completely covered in burns.

T:100 O:1700

"I see you are still clinging on. Good. I would hate for you to die so quickly. In a way, this could be seen as poetic. House Targaeryean's word: Fire and Blood. You betrayed them, and now you burn. But death by dragonfire...For as much as I understand the terror, It would at least be quick I think. Too quick for you. Dragonfire may burn you quick, but the sun likes to take its time. It watches as you slowly succumb to the heat, until you embrace the despair. This is not justice for the dragons. Honestly, good riddance to them! Aerys was a mad dog who should have died before the crown ever past to him. And Rheagar..." Oberyn halted his speech to put as much contempt as he could into the name of his good brother. It was almost equal to the hatred he put in Tywin's own name. "Rhaegar was unworthy. He had Elia. He had two beautiful children. But he threw it all away. And what did he get out of it? A frozen whore. A bitch like her sigil, who seduced a foolish man away from his dutiful wife, and killed thousands of men, women and children, all because she wanted a crown that could never be hers." Oberyn took another breath, his anger subsiding for the moment.

"Draw your last pathetic card Tywin. Once you end your turn, the poison will kill you nice and slow. I don't want to miss even a second of watching your death throes. In the end, It was the Viper's poison and the fire of the son that was the end of the Lion of Casterly Rock."

Tywin coughed, and managed to stand-but he was in great pain. Despite this, he was still able to duel.

"My turn." Tywin said, maintaining the same tone he had for every turn this duel. Even if he did die, He would do it with as much dignity as he could muster.

He drew his card. After feeling despair for the briefest of moments...he realized he had won.

"Prince Oberyn. I doubt it will be much comfort, but I truly did not plan Elia's death."

"WHAT?!" Oberyn yelled. "EVEN NOW YOU FEIGN IGNORANCE?!"

"No. I did order the killing of her children, but I had assumed that Lorch and Clegane would have the sense to do it cleanly. Lorch is usually good at following orders. But he let his rage guide him when he killed Rhaenys. As for Clegane, I had yet to realize just what kind of person he was. I gained nothing from the cruelty of the act, only the act itself. For that, I admit I made a mistake, and I do regret that.

"However, IT WAS NECESSARY. I remember Varys saying you yourself were planning on declaring for Viserys until Prince Doran talked you out of it. If that was Aegon instead? Or if you tried to apply Dornish inheritance to the crown and name Rhaenys Queen? The war would have just continued. You may feign peace for a decade or so, but the war would resume. And that is assuming Robert could be talked into sparring them himself.

"In the end, your sister and her children's lives were forfeit the moment Rhaegar abducted Lyanna and died. Don't worry. You can have your vengeance on him if you end up in the same hell.

"Now to end this. I sacrifice my face down monster, and by doing so, secure my victory. I summon Leogun!"

A lion-like creature appeared on the field.

"...That's it?" Oberyn asked. "The burns must have affected your mind. That monster is too weak to do anything to me."

"True. But that is not why you lose. This is." Tywin held up the card he had just sacrificed. "Witch of the Black Forest!"

"How does that monster defeat me from the graveyard." Oberyn said with a smug smile. Truly, Tywin was grasping, perhaps trying to bluff.

"You see, this Witch has a special ability. When it leaves the field to the Graveyard, I can add any monster in my deck with less than 1500 Defense to my hand. And I pick this one."

Tywin showed the card to Oberyn.

It was a head. It had brown skin, and a strange shaped head, but its face was apparent. And it's face was snarling.

"You have no idea how hard it was to procure the necessary cards. I could afford it of course, but actually finding them took Kevan and myself several moons. The only reason I even knew about it was because this card was in my original deck. I doubt many other people know of it."

"What are you talking about? You already summoned this turn, so you can not play it. And I can see it only has 1000 attack and Defense. Its too weak to do anything. What are you doing?" Oberyn asked as Tywin began to remove his monster cards from his Duel Disk.

"I am talking about it's effect." Tywin said as he placed a different card on the field. It looked like a leg. The skin was the same shade as the head's. It was also shackled.

He then placed the opposite leg on the opposite side of the duel disk. And then he placed two arms, also shackled. Suddenly a circle of light appeared behind the chained limbs. It reached all the way to the ceiling of the abandoned mine.

Tywin placed the head in the center place of his Disk.

Out of the circle, the head emerged. The Torso materialized along with it.

"You see Oberyn, When I have Exodia The Forbidden One in my hand, along with the four limbs, I instantly win the duel."

"W-WHAT?" Oberyn said in shock. The fear he was feeling was palpable. He stared upwards at Exodia.

This...This was what it meant to be before a god.

And that god obeyed TYWIN LANNISTER.

"Enough delaying. Exodia-OBLITERATE."

Exodia put its hands together, and a ball of light formed. Sunburner and Interceptor tried to attack while it was preparing to strike, but they were too late-and that's assuming they had a chance.

Exodia released the ball of light, instantly vaporizing both monsters.

And then the light struck Oberyn.

The entire mine shook. As did the above Casterly Rock.

'Elia...I failed to avenge you. Doran...We can not beat this.'

That was the last conscious thought of Prince Oberyn Martell, Prince of Dorne, and the Red Viper. Then the pain set in.

T:Victory O: Defeat

Tywin felt his body heal from all the injuries and burns he accumulated over the course of the duel. As Exodia faded from existence, he turned to look at his would be killer.

It was unrecognizable. It was human shaped, but any resemblance ended there.

Tywin walked over to the corpse, and plucked the deck and Disk right off of what remained of its arm.

He heard a commotion from the entrance, and was greeted by the sight of the captain of his household guard.

"My Lord! What has happened. We felt the castle shake, but when we went to check your room, you were not there. That's not all though. Several guards were found all asleep. But for some reason, we can not wake them."

"You have him to blame." Tywin said as he gestured to the corpse.

"Have the castle searched floor by floor. If you find any of Dornish blood, or even any foreigner who is not known by the servants, then arrest them immediately. Tell them their Prince is dead. I will be in my chambers, and then my solar."

Tywin made his way back to his chambers, the Captain of the guard escorting him before informing anyone they passed of Tywin's orders. Before reaching the chambers, The captain left and Tywin took three other guards as an escort.

When they reached his chambers, Kevan and Tyrion were both waiting by the door.

"Brother, what was that shaking?" Kevan asked, relieved to see his elder brother was okay.

"That shaking was the result of a decade's long revenge plot failing." Tywin said as he walked into his chambers. He had been forced to duel for his life in his night clothes, It was impossible for him to sleep now, so he might as well get ready.

As he changed, he explained the duel in detail to Kevan and Tyrion.

"Prince Oberyn came all the way here...just to challenge you to a duel?" Tyrion asked. He of course knew better than to think Tywin was lying, but to hear such an absurd plan...It was like if the High Septon had declared the faith to have been wrong and started worshipping the Drowned God.

"He must have been overconfident in his deck. He did almost beat me after all." Tywin said. He saw the goblet he had filled with cool water. Parched, he went to go grab it.

"It seems strange for the Red Viper of Dorne to take such a straightforward approach." Kevan said.

"Aye, if I were him, with the skills he is said to have, I would have poisoned me and made my way as far from the keep as I could get." Tywin said as he raised the goblet to his lips.

He stopped less than an eighth of an inch from his mouth.

Kevan and Tyrion's faces went pale when Tywin's words and actions reached their minds.

Tywin put the goblet down and opened the chamber door to address a guard.

"Find the Maester, then have all the kitchens and storerooms looked at. Assume everything in the castle you can eat has been poisoned. NOW!" The Guard ran off to fulfill his lord's orders.

LANNISPORT-LION'S DEN

The Lion's Den was a moderately popular inn. Far below being seen as fitting for anyone of the nobility.

Which was precisely why one of it's tables was now occupied by Tywin, with some papers from his Solar on the table, and a plate of breakfast in front of him, surrounded by several guards, with another few dozen outside, inspecting any who entered.

Kevan stood in front of his brother's table.

"At least ten different kitchens or storerooms have been found to have been poisoned. At this rate, we may have to just get rid of it all. It is still summer."

Tywin nodded at his brother.

"We shall send men out once the issue has been dealt with. It does no good if Oberyn's accomplices poison new food as well."

"About that. We have captured ten people, most of them snuck in as part of the merchant's who helped resupply the rooms in the first place. Amongst them, I recognized Oberyn's squire. I believe he is a Sand."

Tywin took a bite of bacon. "Have them put in the cells. Only give them food from the rooms that were confirmed to be poisoned. If they eat or avoid something in particular, we may know if anything is salvageable."

As Kevan left, Tywin went back to writing a message to send to King's Landing. Oberyn's attack was a declaration of war. He omitted Exodia from the message. The less people who knew about it the better.

Still, in all likelihood, Doran would have to make serious concessions or go to war. The Dornish houses had only a few ships, having taken Nymeria's burning of their ships to heart.

Dorne was once basically self reliant before being integrated into the other kingdoms. However, after Daeron II brought them into the fold, they enjoyed an easier time to get food and being able to export their resources.

It was unlikely that Dorne would be able to return to being independent from the Reach and the other kingdoms so quickly. All Robert had to do was lay siege to the seas around Dorne, and what food and supplies they managed to grow in the desert would soon shrivel up.

Tywin noticed his guards move in front of him and he looked up.

A smallfolk- relatively young, Tywin would guess less than twenty- had gotten up from the table he was eating at and attempted to walk up to Tywin. Fear was evident on his face, but he still stood there.

"What do you want." Tywin said in a gruff voice. He had no time for mingling with the smallfolk.

M'lord...my name is Dennis. I work in the mine about a league and a half east of the city. I don't know how its done among rich peoples like yerself, but the man who orders us around-a guy named Aron, I've seen him and some of the other non-diggers pocket some of the large chunks of gold at the end of shifts." Dennis said slowly at first. His face still showed fear, but also a sense of relief.

Tywin looked at the boy. He was obviously a simple miner. No doubt this Aron and his accomplices were managers-more learned smallfolk who were tasked with overseeing the miners and reporting how much gold they had excavated. Such managers were employed all throughout the Westerland's mines, This allowed the nobility to not have to waste time overseeing the mines, and allowing them to focus on ruling. Since they reported the numbers, they could easily lie about it.

"I see." Tywin said and let it hang in the air.

The inn was silent. It was by no means full, but there were enough tables occupied one would expect to hear some noise.

Tywin looked and saw the wife of the inn-keeper, having just placed a meal on a table when Dennis made his declaration. One nod and she came running over.

Tywin reached into his purse and pulled out a small pouch of dragons. He passed it to the wife.

"That should cover the meals for everyone here and then some. Why don't you fetch Dennis here some drink. It looks like we may be here for awhile."

As she grabbed the pouch and ran to get a drink, Tywin turned back to Dennis. He then pulled out Oberyn's deck and began to shuffle. 'An audience could be useful. Let them think my deck is something else.'

"Sit, good man. No need to take out your Duel Disk, we can just do it on the table. Tell me everything you know about your manager." Tywin had the guards clear the table as Dennis sat in front of him. He had spent years as both Hand and Lord having to deal with nervous lordlings unsure of how to live up to their predecessors. Tywin found offering a distraction to ease them into it worked best.

Later that week, Dennis was awarded a third of the gold Aron had still had on him at the time of his arrest. Other managers from other mines had been called in to take over, and they were instructed to teach Dennis how to do the job as well.

AN: CHAPTER 10 : THE LION THAT DEVOURED THE SUN.

First major death this chapter.

Tywin literally has the best deck that money could buy, so of course he would have Exodia. And as he stated, the only reason he even knew about the instant win condition was because he had Exodia The Forbidden One in his original deck.

Oberyn's action may be explored more in Dornish POVs, but the gist is he either kills Tywin himself, or he dies but poisons him. Kind of like his duel in canon with Clegane.

Tywin is a PR Master, it's the reason why some smallfolk think Aerys' rule was good. He not only survived a double attempt on his life, but also found some corruption in HIS mines that he gets to stomp out. All in all it was a good day for him.

Next chapter is something different. It will be the only time I plan on using First Person in this story.


	11. Chapter 10: Origins and Answers

AN: Inspiration just hit me. I am writing this before I even finish the last chapter.

Hopefully you all like or at least tolerate this change of pace.

? ?- ? ? ?-? ? ?

?

The sky was on fire.

No, that was just the dragons in the sky.

It was night, but the dragons lit the sky up enough that if one did not look up, they would assume it was day. The heat from the dragon flame could be felt on the ground. To me, whose summer included snow, it felt like an intrinsic wrong to be this hot.

If one were above the dragons, they would see stars. Stars that were outnumbered by the dragons below.

Only, not all the dragons looked the same. Some had four legs and wings, others had their front legs attached to wings, or front legs resemble arms. Some did not have any legs, only looking like snakes with wings. One that caught attention appeared to be covered in red leaves. Or rather, made of the plants.

One dragon was cut down by a surprise attack. But it's rider's arm glowed a bright red, and suddenly the dragon glowed and was now covered in metal, and it rejoined the fight.

Eventually, thirteen dragons-including the one now covered in metal- broke through the chaos and plummeted down to the mountain below. Suddenly a barrier came to life, halting them. But six riders raised their arms as one did before, and another dragon came into being, this one large enough shield from sight the dragons still in combat and cast a shadow on the ground that would return the night to those below.

Or it would have, if it itself were not made of red light.

The other seven-whose arms did not glow, had golden lines shoot out from each of them, until they met at a point and became one. Then the one line shot itself at the barrier, piercing it enough for the large light dragon to plunge its claw in and rip the barrier open.

Some dragons saw all this occur, and rushed to intercept the thirteen. Instead, the dragons whom had stayed behind to continue the fight rushed between the thirteen and their attackers, as if to hold them off.

Their path now unimpeded, the thirteen flew down and approached a mountain. But the mountain was strange, it was hollow when viewed from above, and some red liquid was shooting upwards, as if trying to get out. From above, thirteen other such mountains were visible. But they were all calm.

Suddenly, darkness shot out from the rim of the hole the dragon's barely avoided it. Another blast of darkness shot out.

One by one, the dragons would approach the ground near the mountain, and the rider would jump off. The dragon would then fly back up while another went downward. Soon, all thirteen riders had reached the ground, and were running up the mountain while the dragons acted as a diversion.

The riders moved at inhuman speeds. Enemies appeared as they ran up. Two who had swords. They charged forward, only for one rider to break from the rest and engage them.

His hands were empty, but he muttered something and opened his hands up and two blades suddenly appeared in his hands.

They were Valyrian Steel, but while one was black, the other was white.

The black one had a triangle of white on its flat sides, while the white had a triangle of black. On the end of both of these swords, was a circle, half white and half black, but not actually divided down the middle. In the white half, there was a black circle. A white circle was also in the black half. They were also shaped differently than any other sword I had ever seen or read about. Even his allies and enemies' blades were more similar than what he held.

With quick efficiency, the rider parried one swordsman with the black blade and fatally sliced his foes face with the white one. The second swordsman ran at him from behind only for him to turn around and match his blade with the white one. Suddenly, the white blade shattered after countering the strike. The swordsman stepped back in shock, only for the rider-who had expected the breaking-to kill him with a blow from the black sword to his head. The black blade also shattered, but the rider had slain both men before the other riders had reached them. They continued to run.

Eventually, they reached a point and a rider yelled. Everyone stopped and stared at her. She walked forward, and then put her hand right below her neck. On closer inspection, she was wearing some golden necklace, though her hand obscured most of it.

She walked forward a few steps, then jumped. She then landed on one foot and jumped again, though this time to the right. Eventually she stopped jumping in a weird pattern and yelled again at her fellow riders. One by one, they copied her jumping, until they all reached the end. Afterwards, one of them threw some rocks back at where they jumped, only for the entire ground the collapse and reveal multiple pit traps. Had they not made the jumps they did, they would have fallen in.

They continued onwards. After noticing the necklace, I realized that six other riders also had golden objects. One rider had a golden eyeball. He seemed to be aware of me, but did not say anything. The woman with the necklace also glanced at me from time to time, but was also silent. The other six all had red tattoos that would glow from time to time.

Eventually, they had reached the top. There, several men and women stood at the rim, muttering words like the rider had to summon his twin swords.

"Rytsas mirre! " One man said as he approached the thirteen. He had the air of a leader.

"Obūljarion Gaemon!" The rider who used swords said. He appeared to be the leader of the thirteen. From his neck, hung on a cord of Valyrian Steel as a necklace, was a golden Pyramid. I only knew that from sketches of the great pyramids of Meereen. On it, and all seven gold items, was a strange eye.

"Skoro syt? Arlie tegun naejot udrāzma iksis va." Gaemon said in response. While the thirteen looked like they were ready for battle, Gaemon spoke like he was addressing young children who had been naughty.

"Aōha ñuhoso jemagon mērī naejot vējes." The one with the golden eye said

"Pirta Alastor." Gaemon said, his face enraged. "Skoros ivestragon ao Charlie?" he asked, looking towards the rider who had the metal dragon.

Said rider had a tattoo on his arm that he wore openly. On it, a dragon claw seemed to grip something. My guess was a heart.

Despite having the same hair and eyes as everyone else, it appeared that he had dyed the tips of his hair red, or the blood from battle just made it look that way.

"Kesā pryjagon īlva." He responded.

Gaemon sighed. "Skoros nūmāzma ao Murtagh? Kiryu? Ryuko? Sorka? Martha?

"Kesā pryjagon īlva." They all repeated in unison.

Gaemon looked at the five who had been silent. "Kessa ao sagon ñuha raqiros? Tave? Xion? Lelouch? Rachel? Hana?" he asked. His voice holding a bit of hope.

"Dōrī." They all said.

Gaemon kept talking, quicker and quicker. The others countered every point he made. I had little knowledge of Valyrian, having just started to learn it in depth, but I made out some phrases.

...Thirteen of the fourteen...Gates to another world….Too dangerous ...Future seen ...Disaster…You changed ever since that slave saved you Eragon...Open the fourteenth ...gifts from the gods.

The last phrase was emphasized by Gaemon pointing to the golden items seven had, and at the tattoos the others had. In the end, Gaemon failed to sway any of his foes.

"Sīr sagon ziry." Gaemon muttered. "Morghūljagon Eragon!"

He drew his own blade and tried to rush them. His allies from the rim stopped muttering and rushed to join him.

The battle was quick but undecided. A few moments after the one known as Eragon cut off Gaemon's ear when he was too slow dodging, the mountain shook, Suddenly, the other thirteen mountains glowed the same as this one, and all let out some red liquid.

Gaemon laughed. "Ao qringaomatan!" He said before Eragon killed him by beheading him.

The other sorcerers had also fallen, either to the red liquid or the thirteen.

The thirteen turned to each other, and spoke quickly about what to do.

Eragon ended the talk with "Kosti mīsagon se vys rȳ qubāje lo daor Valyria."

Two of them had been injured. Rachel, and Alastor I think. After talking, they all whistled. Their dragons came down and all but those two climbed up. Each left in the direction of a different mountain.

"I didn't expect this."

I heard a voice say. Actually being able to know what was said was so shocking, I turned and looked at the one who had spoken.

"I thought so. The bearers of the necklace each have visions of their successors. My predecessor was in her eighties when she foresaw me the day before I was born. But her predecessor saw her as his first vision." Rachel said as she walked up to me, It seemed her injury was healing as the necklace glowed.

She was the youngest of all of them, appearing to be no older than 16. Her hair was also covered in blood, turning the silver blond strands into a dark red.

"Strange, you don't have the look of dragon's blood, and this tongue is not Valyrian. You must be a mongrel, raised by your non-valyrian family. Ha! And they thought it was scandalous when I was chosen since I was from a merchant family. No doubt they objected even more to you. At least my blood was pure dragon. I suppose you being here means that we win. Watch and learn child. Let your future teacher show you how it is done."

Her injuries healed, she climbed her dragon and continued on to another mountain.

"She always did have an arrogance since she joined."

I turned around and looked at Alastor, whose injuries were also healing. When he looked at me, I felt strange, as though he was looking into my very soul.

He sighed. "So that it huh? The Doom of Valyria. As good a name as any I suppose. Rachel has a sense that she is more special than the rest of us due to her humble origins. She fell in line for the most part, but at times she would act like she should have been the leader. The Necklace of Meraxes that she holds stopped letting her see past this day. She took your appearance to mean that we win and you will replace her. But my Eye of Balerion is different. I can actually see a person's thoughts and memories. You being here means I get a better view of the future than she could."

He looked straight at my eyes. "I always wanted to be a storyteller. But then the Eye chose me as it and the marks chose the others. If I am to die today, I might as well fulfill that dream. I see little is known of Valyria in your time. Let me fill in the gaps."

I found myself sitting on the ground, looking up to him, a sad smile on his face.

"The fourteen volcanoes around here are called the fourteen flames. Thousands of years ago, when we were just shepherds, seven of them shot forth these golden items, and another six burned the arms of six people. There was no pattern to it. It seemed it was all random. But then, then dragon's we had spent our lives hiding from, started to appear more often. And they obeyed when one of the people with a mark or item commanded them to stop. Eventually, the thirteen people managed to control the dragons, and made it so any could learn to do so without the items or mark.

"Now as the freehold expanded, we feared losing the items. The marks were safe, when someone with a mark died-either by battle, murder, or just age-the moment they died, a child would burn their arm in the same pattern as the mark of the dead. It could be a governor's brother, or a street urchin. We had an issue of parents faking the mark by burning their kids to gain prestige.

"Back to the items. The ones holding them mainly stayed in the central Valyria. We almost never went to the colonies or farther unless there was an emergency. As such, we mainly remain hidden to our enemies. One of my predecessors used the Eye at peace talks with Ghis, only to instead find out what their plans were and plan the perfect counter strategy."

I was completely enwrapped by the tale Alastor was telling. The Doom of Valyria and what was lost before it. Straight from the mouth of someone who lived through it. 'But perished all the same.' I realized.

"When one of the item wielders died or was approaching it, all the people in the freehold born since the last time a new wielder was chosen would be brought together, and each item would have a different test. You have to solve the puzzle, keep the scale balanced, unlock a door, you get the idea.

"Anyway, Gaemon, the guy we just killed here? He was Eragon's cousin, and above him in the family succession. But when Eragon solved the puzzle after Gaemon could not, he was replaced as heir. Each family at one point or another has had at least one person have an item or mark, and it's always been seen as the gods choosing the most worthy to rule. If a family refuses to turn over an item after the wielder dies...Well one item does not compare to six.

"So, Gaemon becomes obsessed with trying to get his 'rightful place' back. He settles on this volcano. The Fourteenth. The one that did not give anything. He was always an adept sorcerer. He and his compatriots study this place and claim there is some door or gate that can not be seen. He looked at the others, and they seem to also have these gates, but are sealed more tightly than this one. He claimed that if he could open this gate, we could either get another item, or another mark. At first, everyone was all for it. Gaemon became beloved. But then his research changed. He claimed that instead of a singular object, that an entire world was behind the gate. Some like him thought it was a new land to expand the freehold. Others thought it was the realm of the gods. Then Rachel had her vision of Valyria being destroyed. Destroyed by monsters or demons or something. So here we are now. Our allies are facing off against those who want to open the gate, while we tried to stop it. But by unlocking this one, it shocked the others open as well. Hopefully our items and marks can close it.

"And that is where you come in."

He once again looks straight at me.

"You come from a future. A future where we manage to close the Flames but destroy Valyria in the process. Valyria is doomed. Either only it is destroyed, or everything including Valyria is destroyed. Maybe that is what will happen, or maybe me seeing these memories will be enough for me to change the future. I do not know, but we must close the gates before something comes through."

He sighed, A calm acceptance clear on his face. He looked at me like a grandfather to a young child. Which considering our ages is an apt comparison.

"Wish us luck Wolf boy."

His Eye glowed and I found myself being pulled into the air. Slowly at first, but eventually picking up speed. Valyria was just about to disappear from my sight when I saw something resembling an arm appear out of one of the volcanoes, the others had been closed, but not before unleashing the red liquid all over the freehold. All the remaining dragons ceased combat and went to attack the arm.

I did not see the end of it.

I then awoke back in my bed.

I found myself silently crying at the memory of all those deaths.

I fell asleep when I was too tired to cry.

When I awoke, I had forgotten it all.

VALYRIAN FREEHOLD-THE 14TH FLAME-400 YEARS AGO

BRAN

AN: I wrote this whole thing in 8 hours. And 5 of those hours was a break.

Don't expect more first person chapters. I just thought it worked better here.

Valyrian provided by /EnglishtoValyrianTranslator

The names of the Thirteen were chosen based on the group they were in.

The Signers were all named after characters with a connection to dragons.

Charlie Weasley- Works with dragons in Harry Potter

Murtagh- Dragon rider in Inheritance Cycle- the first fantasy series I read as a kid

Kazuma Kiryu- The Dragon of Dojima in the Yakuza series.

Ryuko- the #9 Hero in My Hero Academia-can turn into a dragon

Sorka Hanrahan- A character from Dragonriders of Pern. I never read it myself, but it is apparently where the idea of riding dragons got popular.

Martha- Saint Martha- specifically from the Fate series.

The Millenium items are people who are similar to their items or had something similar

Alastor- Mad Eye Moody from Harry Potter with the Millenium Eye.

Xion - From KIngdom Hearts series gets The Millenium Key.

Tave- A member of the Je'daii-which represents a balance in the force from the Legends continuity of Star wars. He holds the Millennium Scales.

Rachel- Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus gets the Millennium Necklace.

Hana-Kiba's sister in Naruto. The family has the ability to track by scent, the Millennium Ring that can track anything the user desires.

Lelouch- the hero who brainwashes in canon gets the item that can brainwash-the Millennium Rod.

Finally- Eragon, the hero of the Inheritance cycle, is the leader with the Millenium Puzzle. Named after the first dragon rider, it seemed like a good fit for the one who tried to save the world.

He also uses Kanshou and Bakuya, modeled after Fate/Stay Night. Valyrians were said to be able to use magic, so I thought I would have him do Archer's magic to show it.

In the end, the names are nothing more than shout-outs. I have no plans to add to these characters at the moment, and they died centuries ago.

Next chapter: we head back to KL to show the aftermath of the last chapter.


	12. Chapter 11: To War Part 1

AN: Alright, now that we have that last chapter done, we can return to the immediate plot lines.

KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP-SMALL COUNCIL

STANNIS

"So then. Dorne has finally made a move." Stannis said after Jon read Tywin's letter aloud to the council.

"Do we even need to do anything?" Renly spoke up in the silence. Once all eyes were on him, he continued.

"This seems to me like an internal matter between the Lannisters and Dorne. Can't we just let them fight it out without us getting involved?"

"You would have two of the Seven Kingdoms war amongst themselves while we stand by idle?" Stannis asked his foolish brother. He then turned to the other fool who shared his blood.

"I told you this would happen. As did Lord Stark. We told you to arrest Clegane and Lorch, but no, you had to let them go unpunished. You didn't even pardon them, so Dorne can claim the law is on their side in trying to attack the Lannisters."

"You think I could have?" Robert asked his brother.

"You were not here. When we finally reached King's Landing, the Lannister forces outnumbered our uninjured. Had I even thought about arresting Tywin, then we would have been cut to shreds, and Tywin could have claimed the throne for himself."

"I would remind everyone that Elia killed her own children and herself!" Pycelle yelled in an uncharacteristically loud voice.

"She despaired at the thought of what Aerys would do, so she killed them herself and then took her own life. Sers Gregor and Lorch were sent to try to save them, but they were too late. This Dornish attack is completely without justification!"

"Truly Maester? I must admit I have never heard of a lady of Elia's stature cutting herself in half with a greatsword she would never have been able to lift." Stannis shot back.

"Enough!" Robert yelled out.

"The past is done and written. What matters now is how we handle the current issue. Like it or not, this was an act of war. Stannis-you are now Master of War. Pick someone under you to take over as Master of Ships. Renly, call your banners. The Stormlords can patrol the border. Pycelle, send a raven to Sunspear with terms for their surrender. We still have those ships out near Dornish waters patrolling for pirates. Try to get a message to them to focus on Dorne." Robert said as he stood up and left, Barristan trailing behind.

Once the others started to disperse, Stannis stood and went after Robert.

Once he caught up to him, they were in front of Robert's chambers.

"So, how do you think this will end?" Stannis asked his brother and king.

"Dorne can't stand up against six other kingdoms united." Robert replied.

"They managed it against the Targaeyeans. For two centuries. They withstood Aegon and Daeron's invasions."

"Aye, but we have those failed invasions to tell us what not to do." Robert said before sighing and sitting down.

"It's strange. For years I've been yearning for something like this. A reason to get off my arse and put on my armour and go kill someone trying to kill me. My head has never been clearer than in battle. But after Trant, I remembered. The fear of an axe just missing, how many friends I saw die on the field. The gods are cruel. My dream came true once I no longer want it."

"So what shall you do now then." Stannis asked.

"Honestly, despite everything, a part of me is still looking forward to battle again. Even if it's with monsters and spells instead of swords and arrows. Still, you are right. If I had listened to Ned at first, and you later, we may have avoided this mess."

"Oh, so now you value my opinion, when it is too late to follow it?" Stannis said, grinding his teeth.

"Wha...Where has this come from? You always seem to take offense to things I mean as praise. Why?" Robert said. It had always been a source of friction between them.

"What praises have you given me? You took away Storm's End, a castle I defended while starving myself for you, and gave it to Renly. Meanwhile I get Dragonstone, a castle that while prestigious, has little in terms of wealth or resources. Then you deem me to be Master of Ships instead of Laws. Instead, you again give it to Renly. Have you been paying attention to him? When was the last time he was back at Storm's End? Before he had to refit the Gold Cloaks with cards, when did he actually do anything in his duty? Even now, he spends more time prancing about the Keep than doing his duty. My point is Robert, that every time you seem to 'honor' me for my services, you give Renly a more important role for DOING NOTHING!"

What had started as a calm dressing down had ended in Stannis shouting. He felt it. Decades of annoyances and insults, building up and being released in a few sentences.

Robert took a minute before he could speak.

"Stannis, we both know there is no love lost between us. Well...There should be. I gave you Dragonstone, because you were my heir. Originally I was going to give it to Joffrey when he became a man, but I know now he would be terrible." Robert sighed.

"Tomorrow, at the training yard, meet me there before breakfast. I know a thing or two about rage, you aren't gonna feel better until you can hit something. But for now, we have work to do."

"Aye Your Grace. That may be for the best." Stannis replied.

KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP-VARYS' CHAMBERS

VARYS

Varys rushed back into his chambers as quickly as he could while maintaining a calm appearance.

'This is too much.' Varys thought to himself. Things were going too far off course.

Baelish had not hinted at the Lannister's incest.

Jon Arryn had not been poisoned.

Robert was not preparing to summon Ned Stark as his new hand.

Instead, the Cards had come into the world.

Trant was killed in single combat. (Though that was by no means a great loss).

Oberyn had been killed by Tywin in self defense.

Once Varys was alone, he moved the bed onto a rug in his room. He checked under where the bed was for a key. Once he had the key he pulled out the fifth brick from left in the twelfth row on the wall with a window. He moved the bed back for now, He turned the brick around to reveal it was actually a box made with a brick's outside appearance. He pushed the key into the hole and opened up the box. Inside was something very dear to the Master of Whispers-the first thing he had ever stolen.

His master had owned it. He had bragged about killing a man who claimed to have traveled to Valyria and made it out by not going any further than the beaches. He had claimed that the tide had dug it out, as it was just right there on the beach. Once Varys had been gelded, he grabbed the item and stuffed it in his pants when the sorcerer had not been looking. It was the only revenge he could get against the man at the time. The man had so many supposedly magical items, Varys doubted he ever realized it was missing.

Inside the box, was a golden necklace. The only thing really of note about it was how thick the cord of the necklace was, and the strange eye that was right in front of it.

After being left on the streets, Varys had planned to bring it to a merchant and get however much it was worth in gold. But as it was night, he put it on as he found a place to sleep. That night he had a dream. A rich man left a pouch of coins behind and no one would notice it for a few minutes. When he woke up, he saw his dream come true. Every night he wore the necklace, he would dream, and in the morning he would steal what he saw in his dream. Until he dreamt about meeting Illyrio.

The rest was history. He kept the necklace safe at all times but he also built his web to get at the more minute details. Many times his visions from the necklace had been used by claiming it was his birds.

He foresaw Aerys using Wildfire to burn down the capital when Rhaegar brings a host of lords from Harrenhal to depose him. So he told Aerys to go there himself.

He foresaw the Sack of King's landing, but could do nothing to stop it fully. Instead all he could do was replace baby Aegon with a lowborn babe who also inherited Targearyean looks-likely from some forgotten bastard line.

Had he been on a normal time frame, he may have failed due to not having enough time, Or Elia realizing the babe was different, but the Necklace allowed him to make the switch the night Aegon was born. Rhaegar was attending to his wife, who had almost fallen into a coma from the strain. One bribed guard who was later found dead from a tavern brawl, and the Targaryen line was secured. Elia and Rhaegar had only seen Price Aegon the one time, and then the babe was replaced before his first feeding.

But still, the Necklace became finicky over time. He did not see what Rhaegar was planning when he took Lyanna, nor what happened at the tower where Lord Stark fought Ser Arthur.

Now, ever since the cards had first appeared, he had gotten next to nothing from it.

'Why? What will it take to get it to work again?' Varys thought to himself. If he was caught off guard much more, it would be the end of him.

KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP-TRAINING YARD

ROBERT

"All right, all you damned White Cloaks stand back. No one interferes in this until we are done." Robert bellowed to Ser Barristan, Mandone Moore, and Balon Swann.

"Are you sure about this Robert?" Stannis asked. "We could always duel instead."

"No, I've seen that rage inside of me before. Trust me. It's best to hit what you hate directly. But I won't just be your punching bag."

Robert put his arms up like he used to in taverns. "Besides, I need to get back into practice. Let's see what all my weight loss has gotten me."

"Fine then." Stannis said.

They circled around each other for what felt like an eternity. Robert decided to get it over with and went to punch Stannis square in the face.

Stannis moved out of the way with ease. He then landed a solid punch right to Robert's gut.

Robert crumpled, which Stannis took full advantage of. He grabbed Robert's hair and lifted his face for another punch right in the left eye.

After that Robert managed to pull away. His left eye was barely open, but he could see Stannis come in for another punch. Robert feinted to dodge and punched stannis with an uppercut right to the jaw.

This only served to make Stannis even more angry. He came back at Robert with full force.

The fight went on like this for another five minutes. Stannis was more fit, but Robert managed to use his own weight to pin Stannis. One final punch to Robert's gut caused him to collapse right on top of Stannis, knocking what remained of their stamina out of both of them.

Robert managed to roll off of Stannis-much to his relief-and they both stared at the sky.

"Alright, so...do we need to go another round? As your king, I order you to say no."

"An order I was already going to do." Stannis turned his head to look at his brother. "Why? How? What makes you so good? During the Rebellion, men who tried to kill you ended up toasting to you and dying for you. How can you inspire such loyalty? If you pissed in a goblet in front of court, Lords would praise the vintage. I offer them a cool glass of water, and they whisper about how queer it tastes."

Robert could not help but laugh upon hearing that. "Did...did Stannis the Serious just tell a joke? Fetch the High Septon, it's a miracle."

"No, a miracle would be if the gods didn't take our parents." Stannis said.

Robert's laughter faded. "Aye, that would have been a miracle."

"You left us." Stannis said. "You were six and ten. Father and Mother were coming home from Essos and you came back to Storm's End to greet them. Then we watched their ship sink before our eyes. And you went back to the Eyrie. You were of age, and the Lord of Storm's End. But you shirked your duty and abandoned not just the Stormlands, but me and Renly. He was too young to understand. But it was me and Cressen who had to tell him he would never see Mother or Father again. Now you are king, and you spent most of your reign doing the same thing. Running away from the hard parts, and taking advantage of what you can. You must have come back what? Two? Three times? Four years of peace between becoming lord and starting the Rebellion, and you only came home for short periods."

Robert took the speech in. It hurt more than the ache from his new injuries.

"What do you think they would say? If they saw us like this?"

"Mother would grab our heads and knock them together until we fall unconscious. Then she would order the largest Septon be brought to stand guard outside your room to prevent you from drinking or whoring. Meanwhile Father would make me share a room with Moon Boy until I finally laugh."

"Heh. Force us to handle something the other would not mind. So that's it then. We are complete opposites."

"No, you may shirk your duty, but when needed you can do it. It's not that we are opposites. Renly is my opposite. He has your charm, but none of my duty. Remember Donal Noye?"

"Ol Noye? The man who made our first swords, and my first hammer? Of course I remember him. Wait, is he still alive?" Robert asked.

"Maybe. He joined the Watch after losing an arm taking on an assassin who snuck in during the siege. Bastard grabbed one of his own axes to do the deed. He once told me something. 'You are Iron. More like to break than bend. Renly is Copper. Nice to look at but not worth much when needed. But Robert is the true steel. And like steel, he will rust if he is not careful.'" Stannis recited.

"Well, I'm finally removing the rust." Robert said as he began to try to get up. He ended up going from lying to sitting.

"Y'know...Steel may be the best overall. But some jobs iron can do better. I am me. You are you. Let's just leave it at that." Robert held his hand out to Stannis. "Ever need to do this again, let me know. But let's not stew over everything for years. For every time I insult you, you get one punch. Sounds good?"

Stannis grabbed his hand. "I suppose it is an adequate solution. At least for now."

Robert chuckled. "All right then. NOW you can help us!" He yelled at the White Cloaks present, who immediately sprang forward to carry the two men to Pycelle.

"Y'know...Tommen has been wanting to get a bird to keep Ser Pounce company. I seem to recall a certain boy who never gave up on his Goshawk, even when Uncle Herbert told him to abandon it."

"Aye. Proudwing. Oh, I forgot you made fun of me for him. I suppose I got another thing to punch you for."

"Feel free to. I hurt you. I may not have known it but I did. I intend to repay you. You have my word."

….

"So, what jobs does Iron do better than Steel?" Stannis asked.

"I don't know. I'm not a Blacksmith. Hmm. Maybe Gendry will know."

BEYOND THE WALL-HAUNTED FOREST

A MAN WITH A THOUSAND EYES

"Still nothing." The man in the tree said.

It had been eight years, and he still failed to see where the traitor was. He had been able to catch a glimpse of the chaos he left in his wake, but he was unable to warg into an animal to see him. Power that was his birthright from his father was stopping his mother's power.

'That one eye is worth more than my other thousands.'

In truth, it was the one thing he would honestly have thanked Aegor for. Had he not taken his original eye, then he would not have been nursed back to health by Shierra. Her attempts to recreate the sorcery of their ancestors had failed to heal him, but showed him a vision of how to see again. He had sent his agents out, but of twenty, only one returned, and he died soon after. He would never forget that sight. The Eye made sure of that. Any time he wished to use its power, he was plagued with that poor man's last moments. Of the THINGS that were inside him.

By combining the Eye with his warging, he had managed to halt many disasters. He had gathered an army to quell the second Blackfyre rebellion before half of Westeros was even aware of it. He had let the Greyjoys kill off some lords that had been planning on Usurping the Starks-though regrettably that had led to its own problems when the Ironborn managed to kill Lord Stark anyway.

And Aenys. The fool may have claimed an attempt at legal succession, but he had arranged for Tears of Lys to be sent over during the Great Council. Even his own arrest had been done in part to secure the people's support for Aegon, who would desperately need it.

But just when he thought he had finally found a successor, the man travels all the way to his cave, only to steal his Eye. He killed a third of the Children on his way out.

How the Eye had been unable to warn him of his apprentice's intentions, he had no idea. But it still happened.

'Euron...You will pay for your treachery.'

JADE SEA-COAST OFF OF YI TI

CROW'S EYE

"AHHHHHH-" The Yi Tish sailor screamed as the Fire Kraken Burned him alive before devouring his corpse.

Euron saw the man's spirit rise up, only to be pulled towards Euron, who took off his eye patch to reveal the golden orb that replaced his eye. The spirit entered the eye, and Euron felt an ache he had from sleeping in a strange position lessen.

Euron walked up to his Duel Disk, and scavenged the deck for cards. He took those that seemed interesting and handed the others off to one of his bastards to put on the Silence.

"Alright boys, lets see what haul we got this time!" He yelled to his men, who could not yell back to respond, and they scoured the foreign ship for all its worth.

By the time they were back on the Silence, Euron was an elephant's weight in gold richer, and had a dozen more women who either lost or surrendered.

The next day, they headed back west. It had been awhile since he had checked in on Slaver's Bay.

'In fact, I think it might be about time to revisit home.' Euron thought to himself.

AN: And so, preparations for war have begun. Robert and Stannis duke it out the old fashioned way. I thought it was sad when Stannis looked back and realized he actually did love his brothers, but he only realized it after they were gone.

Varys has the Millenium Necklace. Honestly it was a bit of a toss up between him and Melisandre. She would love to have a necklace that was spat out of a volcano, and would see it as a direct connection to R'hllor. But by giving it to Varys, I can give justification for why (F)Aegon would be the actual Aegon. I do personally believe in (F)aegon, but I am curious of how the story would go if Varys did actually save the young prince. He has used it to be able to know things even when people take precautions against his spies. But it stopped working for him. Same with Brynden and the Millenium Eye. It stopped working for him and found Euron a better user. For some reason. Maybe it was just bored.

The main question I'm sure is on everyone's mind-where are the others? And who will get them?

Next Chapter: The various regions react to the news of war. Or ignore it because those specific POVs would not be expected to go.


	13. Chapter 12: To War Part 2

AN: Alright, getting right into it.

DORNE-SUNSPEAR

ARIANNE

Princess Arianne woke up lazily in the comforting heat of Dorne. No sooner had she gotten out of bed to prepare for the day then there was a knocking at her door.

"Enter." She said.

To her surprise it was Areo Hotah who came in.

"Your father wishes to speak with you. I must find the Sand Snakes." He said bluntly before leaving as soon as he entered.

'Probably going to inform me of other suitors he has decided to spend the next decade mulling over.' Ariane thought as her maids came in to aid her in getting ready.

Soon she was on her way to her father's solar. She made a brief stop by the kitchens to grab some fruit before engaging in what she was sure to be a long and tedious meeting.

When she arrived, her father was standing by the Maester, a sullen look on his face.

"Oh, what is it Father? A match too good to deny? Or someone you wasted years on considering rescinded?" She said trying to play the mood to her advantage.

"Oberyn is dead." Doran said.

That one statement completely changed her.

"What?" Arianne said. The words not making sense.

Prince Doran held up the letter that was in his hands.

"'As of Prince Oberyn Martell's unprovoked attack on Lord Tywin Lannister, a state of war now exists between the principality of Dorne, and the remaining kingdoms of Westeros. Though Lord Tywin managed to defend himself, the attempt proves the disloyalty of the Dornish Houses to the Iron Throne.' It keeps going to include terms of surrender."

Arianne snatched the letter and poured over it. The Dornish border lands would be given to the southern Reach and Stormland houses, the Sand Snakes would become Silent Sisters, she herself would have the King himself decide her husband. Trystane would be a hostage in the capital.

She read it over several times before turning to her Father. "What are we going to do about this? Call the banners, we need to fight this."

"Fight? How exactly would we do so? We are gravely outnumbered, and that's with the Iron Throne overestimating our forces thanks to King Daeron. If we engage in open warfare, we will lose before the year ends."

"So you are just going to concede? Going to allow the man who just MURDERED YOUR BROTHER to dictate our lives?"

"It was not murder." Doran said, though his voice did hold both rage and grief. "Tywin killed him in self defense. Oberyn poisoned the kitchens in Casterly Rock. He also enlisted the aid of House Qorgyle to do so." Doran said as he started to rub his leg.

"No one knows where Sallera is. I may be able to hold out long enough to spare Ellaria's daughters. I had thought about asking Tyene to join that Septon's group to keep an eye on them. If I told the crown that she had already left, then she could still join up. That leaves you, Obara, and Nym. You, fearing for your future, convinced your cousins and friends to help you escape. You also seduced a guard as you made a break for it and bought passage across the Narrow Seas and are running to Norvos to seek refuge with your mother. In actuality, you will be heading to Pentos. Specifically, to Illyrio Mopatis' Manse."

Arianne looked at her father, who seemed to have a fire in his eyes that reminded her of Oberyn.

"Pentos? What is there?" she asked.

Doran had a sad smile on his face.  
"Your betrothed."

Two days later, Arianne, Obara, Nym, Andrey Dalt, Garin, and Sylva Santagar, stared at Dorne from the deck of a Braavosi ship.

Little did they know that they just avoided the first ships from the Redwyne Fleet securing the seas.

THE REACH-HIGHGARDEN

WILLAS TYRELL

"Brother…"

Willas turned around upon hearing his sister's voice.

"Still not used to it? Neither am I." The new Lord of the Reach said to his sister.

Their Father, Mace Tyrell, had died.

That Septon he and Garland had cornered was not alone. He had a new recruit. A Hedge Knight who had been spurned the hand of one of the Tyrell maidens. As Garland faced off against the Hedge Knight, Mace dueled the original criminal himself.

According to Garland, Lord Mace Tyrell did not disgrace himself. In fact, Garland said it was the finest duel he had ever seen his father in.

In fact, that was his downfall. Mace had been brought down to only 800 Life Points, but his opponent had only 50. In addition, Mace had on the field Botanical Lion, Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers, a Fluff Token from the effect of Dandylion, Giga-plant, and Aromage-Bergamot. He also had a Ring of Magnetism Equipped to Mariña. This meant only she could be attacked, and she still had 2300 attack.

And then the Septon played a card known as Megamorph.

He equipped it to his newly summoned Panther Warrior, which had also been given Forbidden Chalice so it did not need to tribute an ally to attack.

And so, the Panther Warrior, boasting 4400 Attack, Sliced the Sunflower Princess to pieces, and moved in to kill the Warden of the South as well.

Garland immediately avenged his father. He did not give the Septon a chance to plan any long term strategies.

When he returned with Father's body, they had all weeped. Their Mother was despondent, Garland and his family hardly left their rooms, having spent the time together.

But none were affected more than their Grandmother.  
This left Willas to step up to be Lord of the Reach and Warden of the South. The raven declaring such should be getting to King's Landing any day now.

Willas looked at his deck. To carry on his Father's legacy, he had added some of his monsters into his deck, but that was not the only newest addition. Garland had claimed Megamorph from the Septon's corpse, and gave it to Willas. He said that the card that had ripped their hearts out would be used to keep the family strong forevermore.

He shook his head and focused back on his sister, who had been sadly quiet at the reminder that her brother was now a lord.

"What was it you wanted to tell me sister?" He asked.

"I...I am afraid a raven just arrived from the Capital. Orders from the King."

THE WESTERLANDS-CASTERLY ROCK

TYWIN

As Tywin was in his solar, writing orders to his lords to begin preparations for war, one of the Pages knocked on the door to give him a letter the Maester just untied from a raven. It had the crown stag of the Iron Throne on the wax.

Tywin opened the letter and began reading it.

It was mainly as he expected. Permission to begin mustering troops and all the other preparations that he was already doing. The letter was more of a formality than anything else.

Writing a reply with all the necessary words, Tywin handed the letter to the Page and told him to bring it to the Maester.

Tywin got up when he finished all the necessary letters, and set out to find Kevan. While Tywin was away, he would be Castellan of the Rock. With the speed Tywin was going, he would depart for the Dornish border within a fortnight.

He found Kevan in the great hall with Tyrion.

As loathe as he was to admit it, Tyrion would be coming with him to Dorne. Prince Doran's indecisiveness in terms of his daughter and heir's engagement would be ended by this brief conflict. If Princess Arriane is forced to accept Tyrion, then their children will inherit Dorne. Children that will inherit the name Lannister. If she kills Tyrion, then she will be executed and Joy Hill can be legitimized and married to Quentyn. Robert may be the one officially making the match, but there was little other choice in the matter. Especially given the huge debt that could be forgiven by arranging such a high match to the two lowest Lannisters.

As he walked up to the two of them, they stopped talking.

"Tyrion. How is the deck?"

Tyrion had been given a good chunk of Oberyn's deck. He said that they felt right when added with certain other cards that he had himself. The cards Tyrion or someone else did not grab would be formally returned to Dorne with what remained of the foolish prince's body.

"Well I admit the origins of the deck is a bit too morbid to brag about, I do believe it will get the job done well enough." Tyrion said with that usual smirk on his face.

"Make sure of it. Kevan come." Tywin said as he continued walking. Kevan said farewell to his nephew before trailing Tywin as they went to do additional preparations.

RIVERLANDS-RIVERRUN

EDMURE

"What is this?" Edmure asked his father as he walked into his chambers. The item he was referring to was a letter that held the King's seal.

"Something that is not yet your concern Edmure." Hoster responded to his only son.

"Yes well, here I was about to head out to go speak with Walder Frey about his missing descendants, and then Vyman comes to ask me if it was wise that I was heading out with so few men and supplies for a WAR." Edmure pointed out.

"HA. Don't even bother with the Late Lord. Any trouble that happens to him is his own fault." Hoster said.

"Even so, it's at least a score of people with noble learning joining someone who is becoming more dangerous at every mention I hear. He started out as some Septon in King's Landing, no one seems to know him from before hand-he might not even be a Septon for all we know- and now he has followers all over the Kingdoms." Edmure said, unloading some of the stress he had been building up.

"He is still nothing to be concerned about. Once his followers grow tired of hearing him speak and still having to live off so little they will dwindle and stop supporting him. He is not the first charismatic person to not deliver on their promises. Why, the last thing Baelish said before I threw him out was that I would regret it. Well, the only regret I have is that I ever accepted his father's offer in the first place." Hoster said with a contempt to Baelish equal to his contempt for Walder Frey.

"Please, do not remind me of that. I thought Brandon was going to just mess around with him, maybe let him get a good strike in just to impress the audience. Let a lowborn maid see him be valiant and show him Cat is not the only lady in the world. I did not think he was going to almost murder him." He had tried to apologize to Petyr when he was healing. But the boy had yelled at him to get out, and feeling guilt over helping Brandon even indirectly hurt someone he thought of as a brother-even an annoying one- kept him from trying again.

At the reminder of what happened all those years ago, Hoster had a glossy eyed look. He was muttering something under his breath that Edmure could not make out.

THE VALE-GATE OF THE MOON

MYA

"This is outrageous! It's just a goat path. I am sure we can walk on it without needing to pay you such a price." A baby faced merchant said when Mya told the man her price to reach the Eyrie.

Mya was used to such outrage from outsiders. Either they get lucky and manage to pay her the next time, or they do not come back.

"Suit yourself then. Just know both I and Lord Royce have warned you. The last group who refused my help was a Septon and some followers of his. They said they did not need the help of a sinful Bastard and went up the goat path all at once. The idiot knew nothing of the mountains and from what remains it looks like they tried to scale the mountain only to cause a rockslide. Took Lord Royce's men and I half a moon to clear out the path." She warned the merchant.

She returned to the castle and grabbed some food from the kitchens. She sat down when Myranda Royce found her. Despite this, Mya did her best to try to drown out the gossip her friend was trying to spread.

"Mya my dear, have you heard what your knightly love has done?"

That got Mya's attention. She and Mychel Redfort had been seeing each other whenever he and Ser Lynn Corbray were at the Gate of the Moon. They had yet to do anything too scandalous, but she honestly hoped that his father would let them marry. Though, knowing Lord Redforts disposition, it was admittedly unlikely.

"What happened? Did the Mountain Clans attack?" The Clans had made some more trouble than before when the cards first showed up, but had gone back to the usual amount of trouble after a few moons. Though come to think of it, she had not heard much about them attacking recently. Whereas before you could hear of five or six new attacks every moon, now they had just heard of two or three.

"Apparently he got into a bit of a drunken fight amongst the squires at the Bloody Gate. They decided to settle it by dueling while racing on their horses. The Blackfish stopped them before they could though."

Mya could not help but laugh at that. "That is one of the most ridiculous ideas I have heard. Which is saying something considering the mystery behind the cards."

Myranda laughed as well. "I don't know, I think it would be entertaining. Watching knights race around an arena, having the monsters chase after their leaders."

"Maybe, but I doubt it will catch on so fast." Mya said as she continued to eat.

THE STORMLANDS-STORM'S END

BRIENNE

Brienne and the Storm's End forces returned after several days of hunting and dueling.

Ser Cortnay Penrose was dead. Burned by some monster's white light as his life points trickled down to 0. Brienne was unsure of the exact numbers, but she knew over fifty had ridden out counting her. As she looked around, at the men, she could count maybe thirty at most.

The good thing about dueling was it healed injuries procured during a duel. Unfortunately, the enemy had set traps.

A Horse falls into a pit and the rider snaps their neck, Four had been lost that way. Another six had died during the duel, when their life points hit 0. Others had either died or were missing or maybe captured by the retreating enemy. She was unsure what happened to the soldiers who had been in the southern group.

It was hard to say if this counted as a victory. They had routed the enemy, but failed to capture any of them. Gathering the bodies of those they managed to kill -fifteen in total- the soldiers noted four enemies they had seen engage in battle who were not amongst the dead.

At the very least, it was likely that the raven's would be able to resume their duties.

Brienne headed to the Maester's ravenry in order to have him send a message appraising Renly and King's Landing of what had occurred.

The bandits had looked to come from all over. Some had clear signs of being Smallfolk, but that was not going to answer why they had done such a thing.

The only thing they all had in common, was a circular scar on some part of their body. The leader-or so they assumed, had a line inside the circle, as if to show he was of higher rank.

IRON ISLANDS-PYKE

ASHA

"This is a terrible plan." Rodrik Harlaw stated to his rightful king.

"Always a coward I see. It took me awhile to realize that my wife inherited the manhood of House Harlaw. Mayhaps that's why Rodrick, Maron and Asha grew to be such fine warriors." King Balon spoke. He may lack the Driftwood crown for now, but his kingship did not end when he gave it to that oaf of a Greenlander. He had just bided his time, like a kraken waiting for prey to swim by. And now, the chance has come.

Letters declaring war with Dorne were sent out to every kingdom. No one expected the Ironborn to spare men for such a battle, but no one would bat an eye if they prepared for conflict. While everyone was away, the Ironborn would remind them the meaning of the Iron Price as they take Thralls and Salt-wives like the old days.

"Such fine warriors they may have been, but strategy is just as important. And the simple fact is that we simply have too few men and resources to invade the mainland. Can we hold land until the army returns? Possibly. Can we defeat the armies when they march home once they hear of our attack? No." Rodrik stated.

Balon grumbled, but said nothing. He was in a tricky position. The Drowned God's gift of the cards to summon monsters and warriors to command in battle had brought a renewed sense of victory to Balon, but as time went on, Rodrik Harlaw became more prestigious as he has yet to lose. He went from being looked down upon for his reading, to being seen as the Iron Island's greatest duelist. If Balon challenged and lost to him, that would be almost the end of House Greyjoy's rule. IronBorn were forbidden from spilling each other's blood, but if it came to a duel, then Balon would lose both it and credibility, and House Harlaw could be seen as having taken leadership by paying the Iron Price. Such an irony was not lost on Asha as she watched her father and uncle debate.

They were not alone of course. This meeting was meant to be between the lords and captains of the Iron Islands, but these two dominated the conversation. By looking at the others, one could judge who they sided with.

Balon had the support of Victarion and Damphair, as well as most of the lords. But the captains who got their ships through their own prowess seemed to favor Rodrik's views.

She herself believed in her father's words. If not now, when would they get another chance such as this? Her nuncle was dear to her, but sometimes he was too cowardly.

"Besides Lord Balon, if you make any move against the Kingdoms, your brief reign will be noted to have started with an act of Kinslaying against your son and heir." Rodrik pointed out.

That was a stopping point of the meeting. The lords who supported Balon would be wary if Theon's death caused the Drowned God to curse Balon's reign. Even Victarion and Damphair-who had no love for Theon since he left, looked a little less sure.

Eventually, the lords and captains returned to their ships. They would continue to rebuild the Iron Fleet to its former glory, but would not yet make a move against the rest of Westeros.

DRAGONSTONE-THE RAVENRY

DAVOS

"Another burning tonight?" Maester Cressen asked.

"Aye. Davos replied as he looked at the servants who went around the beach setting up pyres.

Ever since the Red Priestess Lady Melisandre arrived, she had been holding these nightly burnings for her followers. As few as they were.

Lady Selyse was an adamant follower of R'hllor, and her uncle Axel seemed to have followed suit, the entirety of R'hllor worshipers on Dragonstone numbered between a dozen and a score. It was hard to get an exact number as some people would attend the burnings just out of curiosity, and some would stay while others go back home.

Melisandre may have assumed that her claims that her God was behind the cards would cause new believers to flock to her, but the High Septon, followers of the Old Gods and even some IronBorn merchants all claimed their religion was behind it. Had Melisandre already been on Dragonstone, and had the cards only appeared on Dragonstone, then she may have had most of the island converted. As it stood, most of the people on the island followed Stannis' orders regarding her: As long as she is not breaking any laws, accommodate her as an honored guest of Lady Selyse.

And so most of the island carried on as they had in the past. If Melisandre spoke to them they were as polite as if they were speaking to Lady Selyse, but otherwise did little to change their lives.

Honestly though, some were complaining about her stalking the training yard, and whenever someone won a duel, she would interrupt to expound upon how R'hllor favored them. Especially if they used FIRE attribute monsters.

Eventually Davos found out some interesting information about the Lady Melisandre. He was having drinks with his old friend Sallador Saan, when he made passing mention of Melisandre.

Apparently, Melisandre was a traditionalist even among the followers of R'hllor. When the cards appeared, she took it as a sign that now was time to show their God's power.

The Church of R'hllor was allowed to burn some condemned criminals in Volantis, but only the really depraved and it was rarely done. Which made sense, Davos had met Thoros of Myr several times, and he never wanted to burn him alive. Thinking that they were failing, she and some others suggested that non-believers are just as guilty as murderers. Long story short-Selyse may have been Melisandre's only way to get out of the city alive, as she had lost her standing in the temple.

Suddenly, a raven flew into the room. He may have been old, but Maester Cressen handled it with expert care as he unwrapped the letter and began to read it.

"A message from the Capital." He muttered.

After a few minutes Cressen started to chuckle.

"Something amusing Maester?" Davos asked curiously.

"You could say that, My Lord." Cressen replied.

Davos looked at him strangely. He knew Cressen was getting old, but his mind had not yet gone, had it?

"I'm just a knight. Perhaps the only one with onions for a symbol, but that does not make me a lord." Davos reminded Cressen. Should he call the man's new assistant Maester? How would he explain this to Lord Stannis?

"Not officially, but it is a customary title for those who serve on the Small Council." Cressen said with a bit of a grin.

Davos looked confused as Cressen handed him the letter. Shireen's lessons had started to stick, and now he could read more than just his cards.

It took Davos three minutes to read the full message.

He spent another ten rereading it.

He was about to reread it for the twelfth time when Cressen confirmed the contents were what he thought.

"Congratulations, new Master of Ships Lord Davos Seaworth!"

"This must be some mistake. What about Ser Axell? Or Lord Velaryeon?" Davos asked. Surely they were better fitted than him?

"You can ask Lord Stannis himself when you get there. I am not sure if you read that far but it also mentions the Princess Myrcella asking how Shireen is doing. The Princess was kind to Shireen whenever they met, as rare as that was. So you better take her with you. ...For more reasons than just that ..." Cressen said, muttering the last but as he looked out the window.

THE NORTH-WINTERFELL

EDDARD

"Jon?" Ned Stark asked the one family member that did not share his name.

"Yes Father?" Jon replied.

"Why does Theon have a black eye?" Ned asked.

"Because Rickon asked him where babies come from. I found them about to go into the Brothel." Jon replied.

"Okay then, never mind." Ned said as he kept walking.

After a moment of walking he realized something. The Brothel was isolated. The only reason to go in that direction would be to go there. So if Jon saw them…

Ned shook his head. 'I suppose it's to be expected. Jon is almost of age. As is Robb. And I suppose Samwell as well.'

The reminder of the Tarly issue burned the Wolfsblood inside of him. He would not deny that the Watch was in constant need of more men to fill its ranks, but the point of the Watch was it was voluntary. A criminal could not be forced to go, but for their own will.

Ned was reminded of one of the times his father and Brandon had brought him along to witness an execution. A man had gotten drunk and killed his brother. Lord Rickard had offered the man the black, but he said that his crime deserved death, that it was the only way to atone to his brother and the gods. And so he was given it.

So to think that Randyll Tarly would threaten to either kill or frame his own son for Kinslaying, it was enough to make the Quiet Wolf be mistaken for the Wild Wolf.

It took some coaxing from Ned to get Samwell to admit to his father's actions, but once he did Ned assured him that he was not bound to the Watch. He could go if he wished, but until he made a decision he would be an honored guest of House Stark.

Sam did not just laze about though. He could be found helping Maester Luwin, or in the Library, or even helping Gilly.

THAT was another issue entirely. Anyone who looked at the two could see the boy was smitten, but the girl was nervous when interacting with almost anyone.

'Considering her history, I can not blame her.'

The rest of the Wildlings were taking care of themselves as well. The young ones were as obedient as any child their age. Knowing the Wildlings rebellious nature, Ned suspected they were chosen from the most obedient children in the village for that very reason. Ygritte was becoming Arya's personal hero. Which was worrying. Tormund had also been staying out of trouble. There was an occasional issue just from traditions that were seen as strange, but cooler heads always prevailed before it got too bad. In fact, Tormund had outdrank the Greatjon when he came to Winterfell to see the Hostages for himself, as they had avoided Last Hearth along the way. Ned was unsure if that made the two companions or greater enemies.

After this trail of thought, Ned finally reached his destination- The Godswood. He bowed to the Weirwood tree and sat down by it, letting the Old Gods know his thoughts. He found himself praying for his family, as he always did, and asked for the wisdom to handle the current challenges.

After awhile, he was about to stand up when he heard a sound not of nature. It was the rattling of metal hitting metal. Ned turned around and saw Maester Luwin approaching with a message in hand.

"Apologies, My Lord, but urgent news from the Capital, I thought it best you see this as soon as you could.

Ned took the letter, it was too formal to be from Robert directly, so it was likely the grand maester Pycelle. As he read it he felt his blood go cold.

War. With Dorne

Ned turned back to the Weirwood, and muttered another quick prayer, before rushing to his solar to write a letter asking what His Grace expected from him.

He hoped it would be over quickly, but he would do what was asked of him for his King.

PENTOS-ILLYRIO'S MANSE

VISERYS

Viserys stared at Illyrio as he was informed of the news from Westeros. Dorne had jumped and struck first, unifying the other six kingdoms against it. With that one move, Viserys' one confirmed ally was going to be battling on its own.

That was it then. He lost his best chance of regaining the Throne.

He returned to his private rooms in the manse. Once he was behind closed doors, he let out a scream. A scream that encapsulated years of misery, sorrow, and despair.

'Failure. I have failed. I did not do ANYTHING. How did I spend these years? Just running. You failed. You're a disgrace to the House. You have done nothing to avenge Me...'

Little did Viserys realize, the voice in his head had changed from his own to his father's.

As he felt himself fall into the darkness of sleep, he barely noticed the sound of the voice being drowned out by the purring of a small creature. The voice faded as he dreamt dreams filled with dragons. His dragons.

AN: Sorry for the delay. Was going to post when I woke up but then I realized it was community day in Pokemon Go. (Got 3 shinies!).

So, Arianne and her allies are on the move, and the Sand Snakes are split up.

Mace is dead, but he went out swinging and almost won. So the Reach is shaken, but stable thanks to Willas, who then immediately learns what happened to his friend.

Tywin is preparing for the war. A Lannister always pays their debts and all that. He finds a way to spread the Lannister name and humiliate his foes. Tyrion-Arianne is a way to put Tyrion to use. Their children will choose to carry the name Lannister instead of Martell and bring Dorne under the lion. I also was not gonna waste Oberyn's deck after spending so long making it. But Tyrion has changed it up to include cards he prefers as well.

Edmure still is being left in the dark by his father's decisions, but he also gives his take on the Brandon v Petyr duel.

Business as usual for Mya. There will be little to no Turbo Duels at this point in the story.

Brienne gives an epilogue to the bandits cutting Storm's End off from their ravens. Penrose is dead, and if it was not clear, this version of the Sparrows uses the 7 pointed star symbol to denote Rank. The High Sparrow and his original followers have the full star, new recruits have just the circle, and as they do more they get an additional part of the star carved onto them. I may go more into it with Tyene.

Asha witnesses her uncle keep the IronBorn from invading. She is caught between the two, but leans more to her father. Rodrik gets to Take a Level in Badass due to his dueling reputation.

Davos gives us a rundown on how Dragonstone has been dealing with Melisandre, before being ordered to head to the Capital. Mel is the fourth religious authority to claim credit for the cards. So most just let her be, or go to her prayers out of curiosity.

Ned gives us his thoughts on the Tarly issue. He is wroth that the Night's Watch was the only choice besides being framed for murder or being murdered. An oath said at sword point is not binding, so Ned is stopping Sam from going and keeping him as an honoured guest for now. He plans on contacting Robert over the issue, but now is not the time.

And Finally, Viserys loses the one alliance he was just recently informed of. Seeing just how outmatched he is, his coin finally begins to fall. But it has not landed just yet.

Next chapter, we will mainly focus on Winterfell. Also, a fan favorite makes their first appearance.


	14. Chapter 13: To War Part 3

AN: Let's get right into it.

WINTERFELL-WILDLING LODGING

JON

"Are you sure about this?" Jon found himself asking Sam.

He had followed the smart boy to the storehouse the Wildlings were using for their living space.

After spending time with Sam, and seeing how inept he was at many tasks, Jon had asked what made him decide to join the Night's Watch. Sam had explained his family life, and how his father had forced him to choose between Kinslaying, Death, and Exile. Jon could hardly imagine living in such a family, but he felt a kinship with Sam. They were both the Sons that brought shame to their families, albeit without wishing to do so.

"Come on Jon, I know we all know the stories, but have they acted like we were told they do?" Sam said.

"Most of them are kids. If I learned anything from having so many siblings it's that kids do not always reflect their relatives."

"What are you two doing here? Lord Stark need something?" A wildling boy with reddish hair-but browner than Ygritte's- walked out and saw the two of them.

"Hey Dryn." Jon greeted the son of Tormund.

"No, Lord Stark did not send us. So..Uh Dryn, is Gilly inside?" Sam asked the boy.

"Aye. She is caring for Raymun." Dryn explained.

Raymun was the youngest of the children at only five. From what little Jon had seen, the boy was quieter than most children. For some reason Gilly had acted like a mother to the boy.

Sam went into the building to greet Gilly.

"If it makes it better, Gilly was wondering what Sam was doing earlier." Dryn said.

"It's almost like they are the only ones blind to the others." Jon agreed.

"He should just hurry up and steal her if they like each other. Father would let him win. Or be away when he wants to." Dryn explained.

"Aye. Wait...What?" Jon asked, looking at the boy.

"I said he should Steal her already." Dryn said again.

"What do you mean by Steal her?" Jon asked. He recalled the stories of Wildlings taking women and girls from the North.

"You know, Steal her. Didn't Lord Stark steal Lady Stark?" Dryn asked, confused by Jon's own confusion.

"No…Lady Stark's Father arranged for my uncle, Brandon Stark to marry her. When he died, it fell on Father to marry her in his place." Jon explained the history of his family.

"Huh, was your Uncle like Lord Stark?" Dryn asked.

"Father does not like to talk about him or my aunt. But from what I hear from the older servants and what little Father or my other Uncle Benjen says, he was more like Theon. But able to actually live up to his boasts." Jon explained.

"Weird. Up North, you gotta steal a woman from her home. And if she don't like you, she is free to slit your throat and be free again."

"Really? You all just constantly fight over it?" Jon asked.

"Eh, if the man already knows the family he is stealing from, it's more just a tradition, but there are plenty of Free Folk who do steal from other clans or tribes or some of the raiding down south was for women, but not as common as you would think. Trying to get back North of the Wall is harder if you have a woman who don't want you. And no one Steals a woman who was already stolen unless they kill her man." Dryn tried to explain.

Jon could not believe this was a conversation he was having with a Wildling.

"So what, you do not have an official wedding? Here, the Man and Woman stand before a Heart Tree, and swear vows in the sights of the Gods. Down south, they do so in Septs to their Gods, but it is still a ceremony. You have none of that? Are you all Bastards?" Jon asked.

"No not really. I know what a Bastard is, but only Free Folk with a Crow parent are called as such, and that's mainly from the Crows."

Jon could hardly believe it. Beyond the Wall, was a land where his Bastardy would not be cared for. And it was the very people he was told his whole life were evil savages. Then he remembered this entire thing was started by Sam wanting to see Gilly.

"So, if Sam were to Steal Gilly, you would all consider her Gilly Tarly?" Jon summarized.

"I mean, that is something a Thenn would be more knowledgeable about, but I do not see why we wouldn't."

'A part of me wants Sam to do that, if only to spite Lord Randyll.' Jon thought to himself.

WESTERLANDS-GOLDEN TOOTH

BRONN

Bronn and Chiggen rode into the Golden Tooth. Between them was a man bound in rope with a circular scar on his head.

A man by his description had avoided the City Watch of Lannisport after making a speech about overthrowing House Lannister. A bounty had been put on his head, and Bronn and Chiggen caught him and brought him to the nearest castle to notify House Lannister in order to claim the reward.

They were greeted by guards who asked for their business.

"We got here the idiot that decided to insult the Lannisters in the Westerlands. We also got the corpses of his friends if that will fetch us anything" Chiggen explained to the guards.

It was true, tied to the back of their horses were day old corpses that used to be the man's allies. After figuring out which one specifically had the bounty on them, they killed the rest but figured they may get something out from showing he was not alone.

The reason Bronn bothered to work with Chiggen was on display in this event. The problem with bounties is that unless they had a defining characteristic, something that really got stuck in your mind, it was nearly impossible to know if you got the right man until the person who put up the bounty confirms it. A plain looking criminal could hide as the hunters forgot what he looked like. Chiggen did not have this issue, as he could read and write.

It came in surprisingly enough that it was worth keeping Chiggen alive. Not that he was a bad fighter, but Bronn was the better of the two, and they both knew it. Now with the cards, they were about even.

He would listen to the description, then write it down and look back to it to confirm if the man they got fit it or not. The scar was new, but this man had the same appearance as described.

After confirming that, he had practically bragged about it as his allies dueled Bronn and Chiggen. The idiot would have had a better chance if he ran. Instead he watched his friends die, then tried his own luck against them. In the end he surrendered rather than die and now he was bound for some cell or grave.

Bronn watched as a man-Leo Lefford going by how the guards acted around him- approached the two Sellswords and their prisoner.

"Is this the man from Lannisport?" Lefford asked the two.

"Aye. He matched the description given by the Red Cloaks. And he confessed when he thought his friends would protect him. What's left of them is in the bags. I doubt he will be as forthcoming now." Chiggen handed over his paper they used to check the man. Lord Lefford accepted it and nodded. He then checked the bag and noticed they all shared the same circular scar.

"Very well then. I will send a raven to Casterly Rock. Lord Tyrion will come to the Tooth, as he was the one who saw him. If it is the same man, then you will be given the reward. Until then, you are free to use the barracks."

Nodding, knowing that Lefford would not give them more, the two handed the prisoner over to the guards and were escorted to the stables to tie up their steeds.

"What was the reward again?" Bronn asked.

"Ten Gold Dragons alive. Six dead." Chiggen said.

"How much do you think for the others?"

"They were helping him, so we may get something, but they were not known at the time. My guess? A Dragon or two a piece. If any."

WINTERFELL-ARYA'S ROOM.

ARYA

"You ready Bran?" Arya asked her brother.

"Yup." The younger child responded as he put his deck on the ground.

It was the dead of night, but Bran had snuck into her room as planned so they could duel. Unfortunately they could not use their Duel Disks for fear of the noise waking the castle. As such they just dueled on the floor.

"All right then. Let's begin." Arya said as she put her secret deck down. It was filled with cards from Jon, Robb, Theon and Bran's decks.

A: 4000 B:4000

"I go first." Arya declared.

"I summon Beaver Warrior in attack mode. Then I play a card face down. Your Move"

As they were not using their Duel Disks, the monster did not appear in front of them. It just stayed as a card.

"My turn." Bran said as he drew.

"I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart. Then I equip him with Cyclone Boomerang. Now he will attack your Beaver Warrior and destroy it.

Arya moved Beaver Warrior to the Graveyard.

A:3200 B:4000

"I end my turn." Bran said.

"My move then." Arya said as she drew.

"I summon a monster in defense mode and end." Arya said. Her hand was filled with too many high level monsters, or useless cards that could not be played yet. Unfortunately her deck was filled with such cards since it was made with leftovers of others decks. She had few cards that could work in different situations.

"My move again." Bran said as he drew.

"I play Fake Hero so I can special summon Elemental hero Neos in Attack Mode. Next I sacrifice him and Wildheart to summon Elemental Hero Bladedge. Next, I play O-Oversoul in order to resummon Neos to the field." Bran played the cards in quick succession as Arya could only watch.

"Now then, Neos will attack your face down monster."

Arya flipped it up. "It was Sonic Chick, which can not be destroyed by monsters with more than 1900 attack." She said. She may have no monster strong enough, but at least she was not about to lose.

"In that case, I attack with Bladedge, as he still deals piercing damage when he attacks a monster in Defense Mode. Then I end my turn." Bran said.

A:900 B:4000

Arya drew and looked at her hand. Prevent Rat, Elemental Hero Avian, Deepsea Warrior, Des Volstgaph, her own Fake Hero that Bran had a spare of for her deck, and she just drew Yado Karo. None of the cards could help her in this situation.

She threw her hand down. "I surrender. It's useless." She said.

It was always the same. She could duel with her makeshift deck, but it was very hard to get a chance to win as it was mainly made of spare or weak cards the others had discarded.

A:Defeat B:Victory

THE REACH-OLDTOWN-THE CITADEL

ARCHMAESTER MARWYN

L:3800 P:400

"I summon Overdrive" Leo Tyrell said as the monster came to being.

Despite being a monster, there was no sign of life in it. It looked somewhat like a cart or carriage, in that it had four wheels, but it was covered in some green metal. There was also no seeable way to get into it, no matter where Marwyn tried. Still, he examined every single part of it and did his best to capture its likeness in sketches.

"You done yet, Archmaester?" Leo asked.

"I suppose this is as much as I can get for now." Marwyn said as he tried to touch Overdrive.

"Very well then. Overdrive, Attack his Battle Warrior!"

Overdrive's long cylinder of metal started to turn, and then spat out several small chunks of metal that destroyed Pate's blue muscular figure, bringing his Life Points to 0 and ending the duel.

L: Victory P: Defeat.

"Will that be all ArchMaester? Archmaester Walgrave usually eats around now." Pate asked as he undid his Duel Disk.

"Yes yes, thank you Pate." Marwyn dismissed the novice.

Marwyn had been at the forefront of the Citadel's research into the cards. His title of Marwyn the Mage-given to him as a slight-was now well known to the smallfolk in Oldtown as they were the ones who aided him the most. House Hightower had commanded they investigate the cards, and when Lord Leyton heard that Marwyn had already jumped into the research in earnest, he was given near free reign to research what he wanted.

Some of his fellow Maesters had already tried to dismiss the magic of the cards. They claimed that this was an act of the Gods, and thus not a magic man could control.

It was Marwyn who compiled the rules and information that was sent to every keep, and even after people began to settle down, he still kept at work researching the Cards.

He was not unopposed however, though it was nothing new. The same Maesters that dismissed magic tried to order him away from further research, but for now there was nothing he could do.

He looked back at the sketches he had made. He would bring them to a Smith later, and see if any of these items from the Cards could be recreated.

WINTERFELL-LORD'S SOLAR

EDDARD

Ned Stark reread the raven message informing him of the War with Dorne.

Normally, the North did not usually partake in wars to the south unless given ample reason. The Ninepenny Kings had been foreign invaders, and the Starks had sent their men to fight as had the other High Lords. The Starks sat out most internal conflicts due to being so far removed from the battles.

Instead, for the North, war in the South usually meant preparing to aid prisoners in joining the Night's Watch.

Ned would send Ravens out to his banners, but rather than wait for them all to come together, he would likely be heading straight to White Harbor, and collecting the men from there before sailing to the Capital. There he would see Robert again and be able to plan this war with his old friend.

Now there was just the matter of who to take. The more men he took with him, the less workers there were to prepare for winter-one of the reasons it took Cregan Stark so long to enter the Dance of the Dragons.

Ned decided he would take a force of five hundred Northerners from Winterfell, and who he could pick up along the way. He could end up with between a thousand and fifteen hundred. Small enough that a few large ships could carry them all the way to the capital.

Realizing that he would have to begin preparations immediately, he opened the door and saw Jory waiting outside.

"Jory, go get Robb, Jon, Theon, Maester Luwin, Lady Stark, and your uncle. And Tormund should possibly be here as well." Jory nodded, and within the hour, all those named stood in the solar. Robb and Cat stood by his desk, Theon, Luwin and Ser Rodrik were by the bookcase, and Tormund was standing separate from the others by the door, with Jon leaning against the wall halfway between Tormund and Theon.

"What is going on, Father?" Robb asked. Ned noticed Robb and most of the people present glancing over at Tormund, likely thinking it had to do with the Wildlings.

He gave a quick summary of the events at Casterly Rock, and how he had been given orders from the throne.

"...So I will be heading to the capital to aid in the war planning. Hopefully it will all be over quickly. Mayhaps even before I get there." Ned ended.

"I ain't fighting in your southern war Stark." Tormund said. "I gotta watch out for the kids."

"You think you-" Theon began only to be cut off.

"No one is asking you Tormund. You have a duty to your own people. I would not take you away from that." Ned explained, calming any who thought to take insult to Tormund's statement. It would sour relations if Tormund or any of the Wildlings died. It was also why Theon would remain as well. If Theon died, Balon may decide to avenge him. An IronBorn invasion on top of a war with Dorne would be bad for those staying behind. But no father would do something that would intentionally endanger their child.

"The only real reason I called you all here was to inform you of the war and that I would leave. Robb, you are in charge of Winterfell while I am away. You are the Stark of Winterfell, but remember to listen to your Mother and advisors." Ned told Robb.

After discussing the preparations that must be done, everyone started to drift out to do their duties or just leave. Tormund was the first to go, followed by Ser Roderik and Theon. Robb went out with Jon as they began talking about the duty Robb was just given.

This left Ned, Cat, and Maester Luwin in the Solar.

"So, you will be leaving within the week?" Maester Luwin asked.

"Aye, it is best not to keep Robert waiting." Ned answered.

"...And what of Jon Snow?" Maester Luwin asked, seeing the look on Catelyn's face.

Ned looked at the Maester. "He will remain here in Winterfell."

"No." Cat replied. "If you are not here, I will not tolerate his presence."

'If you knew the truth…' Ned thought. "You did not complain when I fought in the Iron Islands," he pointed out.

"He was a child, I knew you would have never sent him away at such a young age." Cat explained. "But now he is almost a man. They say Bastards grow faster than Trueborns."

Ned supposed he always knew this day would eventually come. But he had yet to come up with a plan on what to do with Jon once he was a man grown. He still wanted to grant him Moat Caillin, yet Jon had done nothing to be granted such a title. Hopefully he could at least delay the final decision. And Perhaps keeping Jon away would let cooler heads prevail in the long run.

"Lord Reed's men who escorted Sam are preparing to head back. Jon can go with them to make sure they make it back. But he will return to Winterfell afterwards." Ned declared to his wife and Maester. He then walked out of the Solar to prepare.

The fact that Catelyn was insulted by Jon's very existence was always a sore spot in their marriage. But it was necessary. He wished he could tell her, and he had given serious thought to doing so, only for a voice to renew his need for secrecy.

'Promise me Ned.'

As he walked, he passed by the glass houses. There he saw the Winter Roses just beginning to bloom.

AN: Another Chapter done. Now to do the usual post-chapter Summary.

Jon and Sam go to the Free Folk's lodging because Sam wants to see Gilly. Everyone can see it. And Jon gets a lesson in Free Folk views of love and family,

We then head to the Westerlands to meet up with Bronn and Chiggen- who captured the Sparrow from Tyrion's POV for the reward. I also gave a reason to why a Sellsword who seems so insignificant was teamed up with Bronn in the first place. And now Tyrion is on his way to meet up with them.  
Back at Winterfell Arya and Bran Duel analog style.

At the Citadel Marwyn has a surge of popularity from the public, but the Archmaesters he hates are less than thrilled about the reemergence of magic.

Ned informs the leaders and heirs of the war. I tried to do a partial recreate of the discussion where it is decided that Jon will go to the wall. But I have different plans for him.

Next chapter, Tyrion reaches the Golden Tooth, and we get a look at how the houses patrolling the border with Dorne are acting. And far away in Pentos, the Targearyeans get their first test.


	15. Chapter 14: To War Part 4

AN: So, some reviews from the last chapter brought up my number of POVs, and I thought I would give you guys what my plan is for them.

So, we are obviously moving into what I am calling the "Dornish War Arc" so I am giving POVs in this chapter to characters who will be more affected by that than a classic MC like Arya. I was thinking of doing this, so I am not constantly leaving the battlefield to show what three different people are doing in Winterfell.

So Dornish War Arc POVs- mainly those fighting, with the High Lords on the field or in KL. Also, just an occasional check in with non-combat characters.

For example, all the important Lannisters are out preparing for war, so I am not going to just make Genna a POV to show Casterly Rock, but instead show the Lannisters on the move. But I may show Arya's in Winterfell just to show the changes while Ned is away. But the majority will be focused on the War. Also, since the Targs are isolated, they will be the most common check ins.

Also, if anyone is interested. Consider Chapters 1-8 the Starting Arc, 11 the Origins Arc, 9-? The Dornish War arc. (Thinking it may last 4-6 more chapters.Fighting officially starts next chapter and 11 is a standalone arc called the Origins Arc). I do have an outline for the war, I just need to actually write it.

I also have two more planned out a bit -The Faith Militant Arc and another Arc that the name is a spoiler for.

Alright, let's get right into it.

?-?-?

?

"Come on, it will be easy. The fat man can't protect them like he used to. Just get in, kill em, and we will be rich." One man in a cloak said to his table mates.

"Oh, and how exactly will we get inside in the first place? They ain't exactly gonna unlock the door for us." Another man said.

"Don't need to. I saw the boy. He changed his hair, but it rained, and I saw its real color. I know where he likes to go. We wait there, ambush him, kill em and take his head as proof. The sister...Well that's where our new friend can come in. Someone like em, exiled like em, and willing to help so they both can go home. He can sneak in, kill her, and then we get on the first ship to Westeros to claim our reward." The man looked at the newest member of their group, "Sound like a plan? Ser?"

The man looked at his new partners, and nodded. When they were done drinking this cheap swill that passed as drink, he picked up his shield with a bear painted on it, and went to prepare to do the deed.

'I can finally go home.' he thought to himself.

WESTERLANDS-GOLDEN TOOTH

TYRION

Tyrion rode into the Golden Tooth, flanked by several Lannister Guards as they were greeted by Lord Lefford.

"So then, where are the brave heroes who captured the criminal?" he asked.

Lord Lefford beckoned to two men who were dressed not in guard uniforms, but still ready for combat.  
"Ah, I see, and the prisoner?" Tyrion said, getting to the very reason he was told to come here. He was originally meant to go with Father straight to the capital, and then approach the Dornish border. But the Raven from the Tooth claiming the capture of the man who had the balls to insult House Lannister in Lannisport changed that. As Tyrion had actually seen the man, he could confirm if it was the right one, or if two guys just got a random smallfolk to feed to the lions for their own gain. Once he was done here, he would gather the forces that could not make it in time for his father's host and bring them to the Capital.

Two guards dragged out a man in chains. He was mumbling to himself, apparently unaware of how he had fallen so far.

Tyrion approached the man, the scar on his head was new, but it looked like the same man. There was one test left.

He reached into his pocket and took out a piece of parchment. "Can you read?" he asked, suspecting he could not. He was proven right when the man shook his head.

"Well then, repeat after me. 'The gods have gifted us with a way to finally be free! Lords have long maintained their power through the loyalty of heretics who prefer the pleasures of flesh over those of the soul. They take better weapons and armor and ways of fighting and keep them to themselves, only aiding us when they have need for us. But now we have a way to fight these impious lords who grow fat off of the labor of our work! Where is your pride? Think of where you will be in ten-no five years. Tywin Lannister will rot in one of the Seven Hells for all his sins, and a twisted demon-monkey will be the monster you all obey! Can true believers of the Seven, really be underneath such a degenerate, who should have never been born?'" Tyrion recited the man's speech.

The man repeated the sentences from his speech, a sense of recognition shown from his voice cracking. With that, Tyrion had what he needed.

"It's him. No doubt about it." The guards grabbed his chains and dragged him back to the dungeon as he screamed for mercy.

Tyrion turned to the two who claimed credit. "So then, I believe the reward was ten gold dragons?" He started to reach into his purse.

"We also killed some of his friends." the one on the right stated. He pointed to some severed heads on spikes that had yet to be put up on the walls. They all had a circular scar, though the rot made it harder to see.

"Hmm. I see, they put up a fight?" Tyrion asked.

"More than this one." the other man explained.

"Well, fighting hidden foes is important too. Very well, I shall up the reward to sixteen Gold Dragons." He said as he pulled the coins out and gave each to both men.

"Might I ask for your names?"

"Bronn." "Chiggen." The one on the right spoke first, followed by his compatriot.

"So, are you from around here?" Tyrion asked.

"Sellswords. Or rather Selldecks is what we're being called now." Bronn said.

"I see…" Tyrion thought about how he was heading to a war zone. It couldn't hurt to have his own personal men in addition to ones loyal to the Rock.

"How would you two like a more long term job?"

(Line Break)

Tyrion rode his pony on the Gold Road, followed by Lannister men at arms, with his two new swords Bronn and Chiggen riding closer to him.

"Just remember this you two, If anyone offers you money to kill me- i will double it. I like living."

"What if your father orders us to kill you dwarf?" Bronn asked

"Ha, trust me, if he wants me dead he would never use an assassin to do so. It would besmirch the Lannister's name to have an assassin succeed in killing me and avoiding his wrath. If someone tells you he wants you to kill me, know it will end with him killing you because it is expected that I will be avenged." Tyrion laughed and explained.

"Don't worry, so long as you remain in my employ, you will be rewarded handsomely. Mayhaps you will get your own holdings. I feel quite a few are about to become empty." He said, imagining how wroth his father is at almost being killed.

BERIC DONDARRION

DORNISH MARSHES- NIGHTSONG

Beric rode into the castle of House Caron with his host of Marcher men.

"Well met My lord!" Beric greeted the lord of Nightsong.

"I wish it were under better circumstances." Lord Bryce Caron replied.

To that, Beric could agree. He had been too young to be part of the Rebellion, so this was his first time with warfare besides just some bandits.

There was also the issue of his own life. He was engaged to Lady Allyria Dayne. He hoped she and her house would be alright.

He then looked to the one person who worried more for Dorne than anyone else present. Edric Dayne, his squire. Edric had been informed of what Oberyn had done, and had been basically a shell of his former self. He had done his best to promise the young lad that he would keep House Dayne safe, but there was only so much he could even try to do.

After getting off of his horse, he approached Lord Bryce. "So, we are meant to patrol the borders until the King's army arrives. Hold off any Dornish attacks."

"Aye. So far we have seen nothing. In fact some minor Dornish Lords were taken prisoner when they were returning from business out of Dorne. They appeared to have no knowledge of the attack on Lord Tywin."

Beric looked confused. "My father told me that Prince Doran was a wise and intelligent lord. He chose to cease conflict during the Rebellion because he knew it was pointless. Are you telling me he planned a war without informing his own Lords?" There was a reason calling the banners took so long for the more powerful lords. One needed to consolidate power first before running off to conflict. Sure it could be hurried if they were attacked first, such as the Greyjoy Rebellion, but what he had heard was not fitting with the Doran he pictured in his mind.

Bryce shrugged "Mayhaps he hoped Oberyn would win or at least poison Tywin and all of House Lannister. That would cause enough panic that he could quickly rally the Dornish lords and strike at the border Houses like us before the King and Wardens could react."

After having the Dondarrion soldiers integrate into the barracks, Beric and Bryce moved into Nightsong's Lords Solar.

"Once we begin more aggressive tactics, my bastard brother Rolland will act as Castellan of Nightsong while we are in Dorne. What are you going to do about that squire of yours?"

Beric sighed. "I had hoped to keep him close, so that he knows that nothing is personal about this war. I had also thought he could help getting the Daynes to surrender bloodlessly".

"I see. I am surprised they did not send a raven to you asking for the boy back. That way they avoid a hostage and may gain one if you went with him." Bryce mulled.

He sighed. "I suppose it does not matter much now. What's done is done. All we need to do is patrol the border until the full army gets here, then we can invade."

Beric pointed out what he thought was obvious. "This will not be like any war we've had before. How will the cards affect us?"

"Good point." Bryce muttered. "We know what it's like to duel with bandits in small groups. But entire armies? If conventional weaponry fails, I suspect we will all be split into smaller forces and scattered around to find every Dornish soldier willing to risk their life for this war."

"Well, we will have our answer soon enough." Beric said.

LEYTON HIGHTOWER

OLDTOWN- THE HIGHTOWER

Lord Leyton Hightower called a meeting of his sons and advisors immediately after receiving orders to prepare for war. He had called additional meetings between the same group multiple times since then, filling out all the details. Today's meeting covered something Leyton considered vital- The location he was sending his troops.

"I know we were ordered only to prepare and join up with the king's army, but if we can sail into the Torrentine's mouth, we can lay siege to Starfall before the King even begins to march south." His second son Garth, ever hungry for battle explained.

"His Grace gave us specific orders. We must do as he says, else the whole strategy could fall apart." His eldest Baelor said in response.

The Hightower's Master of Arms, Ser Quentin Cuy spoke up. "We still need to decide on how many men to keep here for Oldtown's defenses."

"Not to mention there is the matter of Lord Mace's death. We have yet to know if that will change His Grace's plans further." Maester Uri said. The man had gotten extremely lucky in being assigned to the Hightower, as he had his pick of assistant Maesters from the Acolytes. Today he was aided by Leo Tyrell, a boy who still needed to learn the humbleness in service.

"Enough." Lord Leyton said, causing the table to go quiet. Once everyone's attention was on him, he continued.

"I was there when Balon bent the knee to Robert. Stannis and I both pleaded to have him take the Squid's neck. If he's been waiting for an opportunity to wear driftwood on his head like a fool of a king, then this may be it. Paxter can handle the naval siege. We shall add to our fleet and deploy them as a preemptive defense against the IronBorn. Our Foot Soldiers will meet up with Willas in Highgarden, while a secondary force shall head to the borders to aid in patrolling."

Leyton began to plan the logistics in his head. He would lead the force to Highgarden. There he could comfort his little Alerie and her kids. They had just lost a father, and while Mace was decent as a lord, it would be best for Willas to have a trusted advisor. His marriage to Rhea meant the Florents would not object to him doing so.

"Lord Paxter has been working himself near to death to make up for his son's crimes." Maester Uri mumbled. "If I were his Maester, I would force him on bed rest until he was more healthy. If he keeps going at this rate, he will just take a step and keel over.

Leo grinned as he decided to add to this conversation. "If needed, we could always ask Lady Lynesse to have her lover send us some ships to aid in the war."

The room was silent. Leo turned and looked at everyone at the table. They were all staring at him as if he had just accused the High Septon of rape.

What he did not see was Lord Leyton get behind him-faster than should be possible for a man even half the old man's age- and yank him up by his incomplete chain. The metals digging into his neck.

"Never say THAT NAME again." Leyton ordered.

He kept dangling Leo like that until whatever magic controlled the cards realized that Leyton's attack was not a quick admonishment, but an actual desire to hurt the Acolyte. Leo somehow slipped out of his chain and both of their Duel Disks appeared on their arms.

Before Leyton or Leo could react, Baelor put his hand on his father's shoulder.

"Father. It's been a long meeting going over stuff we have debated before. Whatever we end up doing, the preparations need to pick up the pace now. I recommend we end this meeting."

Leyton continued to stare at Leo for another few seconds.

"You all heard my son. OUT! We have work to do."

With that said, the lord of Hightower walked up to the top of the Hightower, right above his personal library and Solar.

He always came up here to contemplate. Especially in regards to his mistakes. Agreeing to Ser Jorah's request for marriage was his greatest regret. He had been about to say no, but he had looked back at Lynesse. Sweet, young Lynesse, whose face was the epitome of the maiden in love. Leyton had been married four times, all for political reasons. He would eventually learn to love each wife, in one way or another, but his first love had been a maid a year younger than him, whose family had served the Hightowers for long enough that they had been granted nobility, but not land or authority. His father had refused to allow his heir to marry someone he considered a step above a scullery maid.

Perhaps it was to live out what could have been through them, perhaps to spite his own father, Leyton had agreed to the match. It was at the time one of his favorite days. But the joy turned to ash.

After news had reached Oldtown, Leyton had begun to hear stories. How Lynesse would treat the servants. How she had played the victim for pity, turning her siblings on each other as they all thought they were defending her. How she had bought items from the finest craftsmen Oldtown had, and thrown Gold Dragons around like a man throwing water on a fire. How he had been too busy researching whatever topic had his interest that day to notice.

He had thought that their exile was the end of it. That one day, word would reach of both their deaths or capture. But she had not even the decency to stick with the man who had risked everything to make her happy, instead abandoning the man in favor of one wealthy enough for Leyton to have considered a match in the first place. And then, she had the audacity to WRITE TO HIM about how WONDERFUL her new life was.

He kept all the letters. He made sure to read each one, to remind him how he had failed to raise a kind, loving, humble daughter. His failure had led to men being put in chains and SOLD.

His mind flashed back to the meeting. He had planned on going to Highgarden. To leave the Hightower.

'How foolish. I forgot about my own punishment.' He thought to himself

When news had reached of what happened on Bear Island, he had not left the Hightower for about three years. Not the longest a Hightower had ever enjoyed the solitude of the tower, so no one thought much about it.

Now, it was close to a decade since he had stepped outside of the tower. Someone who had been a part of the enslavement of Westerosi should be confined for their crime. If he told his opinion to the King or other lords, they would all name him innocent, or punish him only to pardon him. So he kept the reason for his self imprisonment to himself.

He stared into the fire that lit the Hightower. The fire was burned continuously for thousands of years, ever since the time of Bran the Builder if the legends were to be believed. With no concrete answer, many Hightowers had come up with their own theories as to how the fire started. When he was a child, he had guessed that the fire was the very first, gifted by the gods, and stood as a reminder of their power. His cousin, the elder boy who would one day become Ser Gerold Hightower, Lord Commander of the Kingsguards of both Jaehaerys II and Aerys II, had actually been burned by the flame, and had a strangely shaped burn scar that he preferred to hide. It reminded Leyton of a book's illustration of what a wing looked like on the inside. Gerold, after getting burned, had told him almost matter of factly that this fire was lit by one of the first Dragons ever tamed by a Valyrian, before they began their conquest of Essos.

DANAERYS TARGEARYEAN

PENTOS-ILLYRIO'S MANSE

Danaerys sat beside a window in the manse, looking out to see the city. Occasionally she would see a monster fly out, startling her for a moment before remembering they were part of a game. It was still so strange to think that such a strange event had become a game. The same game had weakened Illyrio's wealth so much that the servants and slaves numbered on fourth what they had when she and Viserys first came under his protection. And the slaves who stayed joined the ranks of the servants.

The cards had also changed Viserys. Before, he had been getting more and more sullen. Her earliest memories from when they lived with Ser Willem Darry. Viserys was more happy during that time, but even then she could see there was something holding him back. But ever since they had been forced out of the Red Door, the happiness had slowly trickled out of him. When Illyrio took them in, his smile returned, but it was different. It was both less warm, yet also burning at the same time. His smile had stayed like that after the cards had appeared at first. But over time, as he changed his deck and dueled her and others, he seemed to lose that strange sense. He started to return to the Viserys of her childhood.

But then something changed again. Viserys had not left his room except for meals for a few days. When he did, she saw that he did not even have that twisted smile. He just looked empty. He had finally left the Manse again this morning. He dyed his hair black-a trick they had picked up from Tyrosh, Viserys said it would help them evade the Usurper's knives- and told her he was going out.

She hoped that he would find his old self again. She missed having a brother she felt safe around.

Ever since he had told her that she would wed some warrior king named Khal Drogo, she had been preparing for his arrival. If she showed resistance, Viserys would get mad. He explained how Drogo was not really worthy of her, but that they needed his army to go home, and sacrifices had to be made.

She had tried to prepare for her husband, but she kept fear in her heart. And then suddenly the Dothraki were gone. Spread to the wind if any survived at all. According to Illyrio, the Dothraki City had been taken over by Lhazareen.

Her musings were interrupted by a servant touching her on the shoulder. She looked at the girl, only a year or two older than her. Her skin still showing bruises from her years of wearing chains. But now she was free, and being paid for her work.

"Princess, the Magister wishes to see you by the gates." she said before waiting for Danaerys to get ready.

After taking a few seconds to stare at the rest of the city once again, Danaerys followed the Servant girl and soon they arrived by the gates. There, Magister Illyrio stood, he had aged more since the cards had disrupted the slave trade than in the years they had stayed with him. But what caught her attention was the man standing besides Illyrio.

He was a large middle aged man. Swarthy and hairy. The man was starting to bald, but still had a good amount of his natural black hair. He wore wool and leather, with a dark green tunic showing a standing black bear.

"Ah Princess! There you are. Our luck is starting to change. This is Ser Jorah Mormont, the rightful Lord of Bear Island in the North. The Usurper had the Starks strip him of his title due to some...difference of opinion about how to treat criminals."

Danaerys stared at the new man. A knight. She had not seen a man who held the title up close since the death of Ser Willem. Viserys had warned that the Usurper would send knights or those wishing to be knights after them. But they would not be true knights like their ancestor's uncle Aemon the Dragon Knight. These false knights would try to trick her into thinking she was safe, only to throw her to the dogs of the Usurper.

Ser Jorah took a step towards her and bowed. "Princess, it is an honor to see you. I served your father for many years. Gods willing I hope to always serve the true king of Westeros."

Danaerys took a step back. "You said Bear Island in the North. How do we know it's not all a ploy? Seems easier than helping my brother reclaim the Throne."

They may not speak of it to her directly, but she had picked up that their chances of avenging their family by killing the Usurper were getting lower.

"You do not know Ned Stark." Ser Jorah said. "Even if Robert pardoned me, I would never keep my head if I went back home. If I want to return, they both must die."

"Do not worry Princess," Illyrio interrupted, "You and your brother are still under my protection. Once the King returns from wherever he goes, we can introduce him to Ser Jorah. He has connections to several Sellsword companies. I am sure he will be very valuable in our plans."

"I pray you are correct, Magister." Danaerys said as she turned and walked back to her and Viserys' rooms. All the while, her mind was filled with worry at how everything was so dangerous.

'I just want to go home.' She thought, thinking of a red door.

TYENE SAND

PRINCE'S PASS THROUGH THE RED MOUNTAINS

Tyene's horse rode quickly while hiding in the mountain paths, but once she reached the end, she had to slow down to make sure to keep quiet. She had no knowledge of the Marcher Lords' border patrols, so she had to look for signs if it was safe to go or if she should risk another route. She had already evaded several knights wearing a variety of sigils. She hoped they had not spotted her as easily as she saw them.

Doran had heard of the Stony Sept being the home of a Septon who was connected to the High Sparrow who was said to lead this Faith Militant. Once there, she would use a false identity as the daughter of a farmer who looked to awash her sins by serving the gods. The fact that she closer resembled her mother would help her blend in. She doubted they would be so accommodating if they knew she was the Bastard of Oberyn Martell. A man some Septons had been disparaging since before his death for what he took to bed.

It burned her inside, but Prince Doran had ordered her to keep an eye on the man. She knew it was also to keep her safer than in Dorne, where loss meant becoming a Silent Sister along with her other sisters.

Five days after leaving the Prince's Pass, she had to leave her Dornish stead behind and buy a river's crossing near Ashford. From there, she bought another horse, that man selling it claimed his prized horse was descendant from one owned by Ser Duncan the Tall, but she had bought a regular one. Unfortunately it was slower than her Dornish stead, but she had to abandon it a half day later when she reached Longtable. From there, a third horse was bought for a reasonable price, and she made it to the Rose road. Not wanting to risk going to King's Landing, she headed north and two days later, she reached the Gold Road. A few hours of hard riding and she reached her last obstacle: a branch of the Blackwater Rush. Luckily there was a village nearby, and she managed to buy passage on a boat. Then the Stoney Sept was within sight.

Tyene smiled. Even if Doran's plans fail, she may be able to manipulate the Faith Militant into striking at the Lannisters.

AN: Before we do the usual post chapter summary, I have a question for you dear readers. I am sure some of you are probably thinking that there should be more duels in here than there are. Well, given that we are entering a war arc, you can expect more action. But, how would you like it?

1). Just have everyone duel like so far. When two military forces meet up, each soldier duels, and I show just one duel between named characters. It may mean chapters take longer as I come up with so many duels, but it would stay consistent.

2). Have an actual war, but with cards used to enhance the combat. I am thinking of something like the entire war is one big Shadow Game free for all, and monsters can be called to aid in battle. For example- Jaime could cross swords with the Celtic Guardian. Or Tywin could summon Labyrinth Wall to break up an enemy army. Or Doran using Swords of Revealing Light to buy more time during a siege. Of course, the stronger the cards, the more exhausted you get, so no one is going to be spamming High Level monsters. Once your LP hits zero, you die. This may be easier to write and would let me keep some of the real life warfare used in ASOIAF/GOT, but I understand if you would not like this. I am about to go on my Spring break-just wrapped up midterms!- which will give me enough time after posting this to write a chapter based on which option has more support. I wish you all luck. Until then, I will be writing down another story idea while also starting on the non-dueling POVs for the chapter.

Alright then, we see the pieces start to move more on the actual battlefields.

Ser Jorah is part of a group that has plans for the Targs. Will he end up being a friend or foe?

Tywin is already on his way to the capital, and Tyrion is only a little behind, but he brings some extra men to make up for it.

Beric shows us how the quiet is strange after such a high profile declaration of war.

Leyton's reclusiveness is given a reason I think fits considering what is known about Jorah. He also gives us a show of a more recent than Doom of Valyria predecessor. While the Millenium items eventually made their way all over, the Signer marks continued to be passed down through accidental burnings. Gerold Hightower had it, but with no knowledge of the significance, he never really tapped into it.

Danaerys meets Jorah, and reflects on Viserys' changes throughout her life, and Jorah meets her. Meanwhile Viserys is nowhere to be seen. For now.

Closing up the chapter, Tyene heads out to join up with the Faith Militant. As I stated in the beginning, they are the next Arc, and this was meant to be to give us an established POV for their side.


	16. Chapter 15: War Mode

AN: Alright then, at the time I am writing this, the only feedback I have gotten was to go with option 2.

Also, We have a TV Tropes page! Anyone wishing to add to it, please do.

BERIC DONDARION

DORNE-PRINCE'S PASS

"What do you have to report?" Beric asked the scouts as they returned to the main camp. They had left Nightsong a few days ago and had travelled through the Prince's pass unimpeded. Scouts had been sent on ahead to see if they could find any dornish parties approaching. Lord Carron was leading a second host and were attempting to follow the Torrentine River southward and surprise Blackmont.

"Nothing M'lord. It is completely empty. We couldn't find a single man, woman or child. We went all the way up to the official border, but we found nothing"

Beric pondered this. The Prince's pass started in the Stormlands, but was often filled with Dornish guards. While they had not crossed into official Dornish Territory, the Pass was traditionally seen as something the Dornish controlled, and was often mislabelled as part of the desert kingdom in its entirety.

Beric pondered the information he had been relayed, both from the capital and the scouts.

The Crownland houses were all together and were just awaiting the King's command to head out. The King himself was awaiting his old friend Ned Stark, who a raven from the capital said was on a Manderly ship with his own forces and favorable winds would see him reach the capital within the week. Meanwhile, half of the Lannister forces under Lord Tywin had been split off and were heading down south to reinforce and take command of the Marcher lords like himself and Lord Carron. It was reportedly led by Ser Daven. The other half, still under Tywin's command, had just reached the capital and would be carried by the Royal Fleet to the Eastern coasts of Dorne. The hope was that while the main Dornish forces were preoccupied at the borders, the Lannister and Crownlands could take Sunspear quickly.

The worst factor on their side was the Reach.

It was not until after the borders had been patrolled that news reached King's Landing that Mace Tyrell had died. Which left his son Willas in charge of the Reach.

He did nothing. The shock of both his father and friend dying so close, and being ordered to march on said friend's home. The lad had shut himself off in Highgarden. Not even his grandmother could get him to issue orders. The last thing he had done was order the Castellan, head of the guard, and Maester not to allow any orders about the war with Dorne to leave the castle. This left the Reach lords leaderless, each doing their own thing. Lord Randyll was marching his forces to Uplands, where he would cross the Torentine and lay siege to Blackmont. As far as Beric knew, he was unaware Lord Carron had a similar plan in motion. The Hightowers were maintaining border patrols, but also marching troops to the western coasts. Lord Redwyne's health was deteriorating from stress and shame regarding his son. He was forcibly returned to the Arbor by his men, and the Maester was unsure if he would survive. Half of the fleet was maintaining their naval supremacy around Dorne, but they were spread too thin. The Dornish were not known for their ships, but from what Beric had envisioned, a naval battle could go either way.

Meanwhile, the Stormlands were reeling as well. He had not noticed any issues, but apparently these religious fanatics had the audacity to shoot ravens out of the air, to keep messages from getting to or leaving the castle. Ser Penrose died fighting them off. From what he had heard, the King was wroth at Renly for not realizing something was wrong with his own castle. Lord Renly's position on the small council was very delicate. Lady Brienne of Tarth was acting Castellan, as she was the highest noble there. Young Edric was safe at least.

Beric sighed. He supposed this was the reality of war. Some objectives went without issue, others got held back by disunity.

Suddenly, another soldier entered the tent. "M'lord, the Lannister host is within sight. Their scouts are here."

"Send them in." Beric commanded. Soon another four soldiers, dressed in the red of the Lion of the Westerlands, entered the command tent. Including one Ser Beric would not have expected.

"Ser Daven?" He asked in shock. There was no mistaking it. The Lannister had ridden ahead of the host with the scouts. This was a dangerous move in warfare. If Daven and the scouts had been ambushed, then the army would be beheaded before it had a chance.

"Apologies for the delay. I wanted to get here as quickly as I could." The Lannister said with a lighthearted laugh.

"A risky move, but then again, you were looking for allies instead of enemies. How far away is the main host?" Beric asked.

Daven sighed at that. "There lies a minor issue. Lord Tywin originally had about twenty five thousand soldiers, while my cousin Tyrion would gather additional forces from the lords that took longer to prepare. He gave me ten thousand to come down here, and plans to leave another thousand or so with him in King's Landing while the others attack by sea. But on my way down here, I was forced to divert two thousand men under lord Phillip Plumm to aid in hunting the sparrows in the Stormlands. So, the eight thousand troops still with me should be here by nightfall."

'Heh, another thing to go wrong.' Beric thought to himself.

"Well Ser Devan, I was told you would be in command once you got here, so what are your orders?" Ser Beric asked. He was actually thankful the man was here. He had heard the horror stories of Tywin's warfare, but Devan was known as an honorable knight.

After listening to the scouts and Ser Beric, Devan shared what the plan was.

"I was given permission to start the invasion once my forces got here. We shall begin to dismantle camp soon, then we shall wait for my main host. Instead of resting, we will march through the night and attempt to strike at Kingsgrave. We have four thousand men here, add that to the eight thousand on the way, and that should be enough to begin a siege."

"What of Vulture's Roost? Will they not send their forces out to reinforce Kingsgrave? I know it was abandoned, but we had heard word of soldiers heading there under the banner of House Wyl. It would likely be their second son, Ser Bryan." Beric pointed out, looking at the map they had available.

"I would think not. Or at least, it will not be enough. Lord Gulian Swann has been given command of several ships of the Royal Fleet. That in addition to his own forces will strike Wyl in two days. Ser Bryan, if he is at the Vulture's Roost, will prioritize saving his own family seat over aiding House Manwoody. In any case, with our scouts, we would see them incoming long before they reached us."

They spent the next hour hammering out the finer details. After making revisions and adapting to different scenarios, Ser Devan ordered the camp to prepare for a march.

"Tell me Ser Beric, are we actually in Dorne or not? I have heard conflicting accounts among the men."

"No Ser, The Prince's Pass is essentially shared between the two, but we are still in Stormland territory. We will probably hit the official border when Kingsgrave is in sight."

DAVOS SEAWORTH

KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP

"Ser Davos. Good to have you here." King Robert declared as the former smuggler walked up and knelt in front of the throne.

"It's an honor to be here, Your Grace." Davos said. As a man with a small keep in the Stormlands, and being a loyal retainer to Stannis, he had met the king before, but in this formal setting, even he knew it was best to maintain the usual niceties. He had enough lords hating him for his birth as is, no need to prove them right.

"Yes, now that you are here, I, Robert of the House Baratheon, first of the Name, declare you the new Master of Ships, to replace Lord Stannis, who is now Master of War. Ser Balon! Escort Lord Seaworth to the small council chambers, I will be joining once court is over."

The knight bowed and led Davos away from the throne. Even as they walked out, he heard lords and ladies muttering about a crabber's son sitting on the small council.

When they reached the small council chambers, the room was not empty. The Hand of the king, Jon Arryn, as well as Stannis and Baelish were already in the room, and Pycelle joined mere moments after Davos walked in.

"Good to have you here, Lord Davos." Stannis greeted his retainer.

"I will do my best, My Lord." Davos said. "What shall you have me do?"

"For now? Not much. What remains of the fleet not already barricading the Dornish ports is already being prepared to strike at Sunspear. You will be leading the forces there, so I would suggest making sure the ships are properly stocked. Maester Cressen sent a raven claiming you would be bringing Shireen?"

"Aye, we ran into the Princess Myrcella and Ser Oakheart before we reached the Throne room. The Princess said that she wanted to spend time with her cousin."

"Good." Stannis muttered.

After giving Davos a quick run through of what the council usually entails, they all heard a commotion come from the halls.

"Just give me command of the fleet. I'll have those Dornish Bastards begging for mercy the moment I get there." A young voice bragged.

"You've never even been on a ship for more than a few days. You really think you're ready to lead men into battle when you have no experience?" They heard the king's voice retort.

"How can I ever get any experience if I am never in a battle?" The voice-likely Prince Joffrey Davos realized- asked.

After a moment and a heavy sigh, Robert answered. "All right, I suppose the day was going to come. I will think about it. But if you do go, you will not be leading it, you would be going as a squire. You do need some experience I suppose."

"Thank you Father, I will not disappoint. Give me the word and I shall march to Sunspear and bring that traitor Doran's head back on a platter."

"Enough, Hound, take the prince to the training yard. I have a meeting." Robert said before walking into the small council. "Apologies for the delay. Is everyone here?"

"Lords Renly and Varys are not yet here." Pycelle muttered just barely loud enough to hear.

"I doubt Renly will be here after you admonished him so." Baelish pointed out. Seeing Davos' confused face, he elaborated for the knight. "We just learned that some of those religious fanatics-Sparrows I believe they call themselves- had been shooting ravens out of the sky around Storm's End for weeks. When we asked Renly why he did not notice anything amiss, well one thing led to another and we realized Ser Cortnay Penrose had been running Storm's End since Renly was appointed Master of Laws. He had only made a handful of trips back to Storm's End. Naturally, the King was quite furious that his childhood home was being neglected by his own brother."

"And what of Lord Varys?" Davos asked.

"He has been out checking on his little birds he claims. Given how many surprises we are learning from people who are not him, well it's hard to say whose spot on the council is in more danger." Baelish explained.

"Enough, we have a war to plan Let's get everything settled so we can end it as quickly as possible." Stannis declared. Robert nodded in approval and they began to focus on the war.

QUENTYN MARTELL

DORNE- YRONWOOD

"How long do you think this war will last." The son of the Sun Prince asked his friends as they sat in the armory, stuck helping take inventory of the weapons because a certain Yronwood son was unable to fool his father while drunk.

"It'll last as long as the Child-Killing King has men to throw at Yronwood." The knight known to his friends as Arch said as he lifted an old rusted Breastplate out of a pile of equally rusted armor.

"Easy boast to make when outnumbered six to one." Maester Kedry said, scribbling down the breastplate's state and likely its entire history.

"It is of no matter. Doran will sue for peace before he loses too much ground. Isn't that what your letter said?" Ser Gerris Drinkwater said as he counted the spears.

It was true. Prince Doran had sent his son a letter explaining that his sister had run off with her friends and told him what the plans were for surviving the war. Quentyn may have been a knight for only half a year, but even he knew that surviving was the best they could do.

"Yeah, what's he gonna give then? The whole point of the war was that the price for peace was too high." Ser Cletus Yronwood spoke up as he entered, having taken the chance to grab some food from the kitchens for his friends.

"Robert is friends with Lord Stark. Maybe we can satisfy him by emptying Ghaston Grey." Arch suggested.

"If only that was enough. Seriously Quentyn, I know your uncle's blood was hotter than Dorne in a drought, but what compelled him to take action against Lord Dead-Babes?" Ser Gerris asked.

Quentyn sighed. "I have no idea. I got word from Sunspear that another one of his nights of passion was raising a child with dornish features, and Uncle was heading out to confirm it, only now Father is saying that was a ruse to distract from his true intentions of avenging Aunt Elia. But he was not supposed to kill Tywin. He was originally planning on slaying the Mountain. Perhaps he thought Tywin was easier, or something stopped him from reaching the Mountain."

"The real question is how long until the war reaches us." Kendry murmured. "Dornish forces have been consolidating in keeps, but we have mainly stayed away from patrolling the borders to keep the Usurper's forces from taking the opportunity to attack."

With that, they finished the rest of the inventory in relative silence. They were just about ready to leave when Gerris, tripped on a rusted gauntlet they had missed, and slammed into a shelf, causing the box of various armor pieces that was on it to fall on Cletus.

The Yronwood knight raised his arms to protect himself, and suddenly his duel disk materialized, further shielding him from the falling metal .

"Sorry Clet! But quick thinking summoning it so fast." Gerris apologized.

"I did not really think of it." Cletus muttered as he started to pick up the fallen scraps.

"Hey, what's that say on the Disk, where the Life Points are usually?" Arch pointed out that there was some message on Cletus' Disk.

"What the…" Cletus muttered as he looked. His face went pale. "What about you guys? Do you have this message?"

One by one, each of them materialized their Duel Disk, and read the message that was on it. They then ran to find Lord Yronwood to inform him of this development.

BERIC DONDARRION

WITHIN SIGHT OF KINGSGRAVE

"There it is." Beric said as Kingsgrave appeared.

"Yes, now that the waiting is over, we can get to the exciting part of war." Ser Devan said with a grin.

The two of them were at the front of their host. They had not sent scouts out for fear that they were too close to a Dornish stronghold to be sure the scouts would return.

As they rode forth, officially crossing into Dorne, both of their Duel Disks suddenly materialized on their arms. Then they appeared on the arms of each man under their banners. On it, the same message.

ENTERING WAR ZONE. SWITCHING TO SG: WAR MODE

All Duel Disks then flashed the familiar 4000 Life Points.

"What the Seven Hells is War Mode?" Beric asked. He learned the answer a few seconds later.

A hand reached out of the sand and broke his horse's leg. Beric fell from the saddle andstood up almost instantly. He looked at what had attacked him.

It was a complete skeleton, wearing nothing but a purple robe.

"Skull Servant" He called out, recognizing the monster.

Skull Servant rushed out and punched him in the face.

Beric was too shocked to dodge, but he landed with his Duel Disk in front of his face.

B: 3700

He turned and looked up as Skull Servant went to strike him again, only to watch as Ser Daven bisected it with his sword. Skull Servant lost whatever held it together, and the individual bones all separated.

"Well that answers your question." Devan said as Beric got up again.

"My life points went down the usual amount. I'm guessing if it hits zero.." Beric said gasping.

"Death." Daven finished his thought. "Well, this just got trickier."

A soldier who was behind the two knights came forward. "Well if they can do it, I see no reason we can not either." He drew the top card of his deck and looked at it. "Come forth, Gaia The Fierce Knight!" He put the card on his Duel disk and a purple horse materialized with a rider wielding two red lances.

The soldier then immediately fell to his knees.

Beric rushed to his side and looked at his Duel disk.

S: 2000

"Get this man in the back! I've seen this before. It's Mausoleum of the Emperor. You can summon high level monsters at the cost of your own Life points. It must be part of the War Mode. It drained him though." Daven said to the rest of the men.

"Ga-Gaia, attack Kingsgrave!" the Soldier muttered as he was dragged back to where the healers were.

Gaia rushed forth, and as it did so, several other monsters appeared, jumping out of the sand, or materializing from Kingsgrave's rampants. Beric could make out several men with Duel disks standing, issuing commands to the monsters..

All of the monsters were relatively weak. An Toon Alligator got skewered on Gaia's lance, A Jinzo #7 was trampled under the knight's steed. A Jirai Gumo was Gaia's toughest opponent, but even that orange and brown spider fell before Gaia's lances.

Each time a monster was destroyed, Beric noted one of the defenders on the wall look as though they themselves were injured.

Unfortunately, Gaia's command over the battle did not last forever. It was about to skewer a Man Eater Bug, only for a purple circle to appear in between the two and suck Gaia's lances out of his hands. Beric recognized it as Negate attack. Without its weapon, Man Eater Bug and the other weak monsters overwhelmed Gaia, and tore both him and his stead apart.

Beric looked at the monsters and added up their attack points. Combined, it was only 2000 even. He called for someone to check the soldier's duel disk, and it was still at 2000.

"Well on the bright side, overwhelming the strong with weak monsters is more a part of reality than the magic of the cards." He noted. So even if Dorne had a powerful monster of their own, they could still just overwhelm it.

Suddenly, another monster flew down from Kingsgrave. It had a blue body, but golden wings and talons.

"Phantom Gryphon!" one of the soldiers called out. No sooner had he said that then all the monsters started charging forward, straight at their forces.

Having time to acclimate to battle, several soldier's regained their senses and stood forward, forming a small shield wall with spearmen in the back.

Before the monsters could reach the shield wall, Ser Daven raced his horse to the side before turning again. He now stood in front of the shield wall, and Beric noted that he had two face down cards in his duel disk.

The monster approached and right before Phantom Gryphon could slash its talons at Daven, he turned over the first face down card.

"Magical Cylinders!" he yelled. Suddenly, a cup appeared and sucked Phantom Gryphon up. A second cup appeared in front of Kingsgrave, and Phantom Gryphon shot out of it and attacked it's master's own wall. It was completely demolished, and at least three of the men on the ramparts had fallen to their deaths from the height.

Wasting no time, the rest of the monsters continued to attack, and Phantom Gryphon stood from the wreckage and flew to rejoin the battle. That was when Daven revealed his second face down.

"Mirror Force!" he called out. An invisible wall materialized in front of them, and when the first monster- The Man Eater Bug- went to strike the wall, its talons broke off and embedded themselves into each monster's vital points, destroying them all.

"I can't believe that worked. Now! Before they have a chance to summon more monsters!" Daven charged forward on his steed. The Marcher men and Western men both followed his example. By the time the Dornish could organize, the host was surrounding the keep. They had also summoned some monsters of their own. Archers began to pick off the men on the ramparts before they could summon more monsters.

Beric had regained his horse and had joined Ser Daven in jumping into the hole Phantom Gryphon had left in Kingsgrave's wall. The moment he was inside the keep, he had a monster ready to summon.

"Vorse Raider!" He called out as the human-like beast came forth, swinging a blade and throwing the Dornishmen back. Doing so would also cut each man's Life Points nearly in half. Some of them-likely ones who had commanded the weaker monsters Gaia had destroyed- were already on the ground, clearly dead from Vorse raider's strikes. Others charged forth at Beric the old fashioned way, only for him to pull his blade out and cut them down. Once they were mortally wounded in traditional combat, Beric noticed their Life Points automatically hit 0. He stabbed one man's gut, and since the wound was not immediately deadly, he noticed the Life Points lower down to 800. That man may still live if he avoided anymore combat.

"YIELD! YIELD! YIELD!" A voice called out. Beric turned and recognized Lord Dagos Manwoody as the one yelling.

All of the soldiers began to drop their weapons, and the men on the walls called back their monsters.

Suddenly, another message appeared on everyone's Disk.

KINGSGRAVE SURRENDERED, HOUSE MANWOODY SOLDIERS REMOVED FROM SG: WAR MODE. RETURNING TO CASUAL MODE.

Ser Daven, whose sword was red with blood, surrounded by the corpses of both monsters and men, walked forward. "Kneel." He uttered the command, cementing the Iron Throne's victory.

Lord Dagos looked at Vorse Raider, and several other monsters still on the field, and knelt.

The message must have informed the main force outside the keep of the victory, for they stopped firing, and soon all the soldiers were laying down their weapons. The knights and minor lords would be taken prisoner, the small folk among them would be kept in the dungeons until they received word of what to do with them.

Beric looked himself over now that the fighting had ceased. He had a few scratches, but no injuries that would prevent him from continuing on. He checked his Duel Disk

B:3450

He had tried to avoid fighting monsters, which meant those injuries were from the men who cut him. While Ser Daven went searching for the Maester to secure the ravens and send a message to the capital, Beric went looking to count their losses.

House Manwoody had a force of 300 men inside of Kingsgrave. When asked, Dagos said the rest of his fighting men had been sent to secure the more important locations, such as Planky Town and Sunspear.

Of those 300 men, 100 remained in good condition, 150 were injured not fatally, but enough to keep them from the field. These men had at most 1300 Life Points left, and the remaining 50 had been slain in the war. Those with injuries were stuck with them, as leaving war mode meant healing cards had no affect on them.

On their own side, of their 12,000, the main force was untouched. Beric had not realized until after the battle that only the vanguard and those immediately behind them had been fighting.

So, of the 1,000 who did see combat, 760 were in relatively good condition, 210 had injuries, but as they were in war mode could be healed by cards, and 30 had been killed.

Beric sighed as he looked at the desert expanse they had invaded. How many more times would he have to fight not just men, but monsters as well?

AN: And there we go.

We got our War Mode all set for this and future organized conflicts.

Apologies if you think that battle was too short. One of my Professors emailed that they forgot to give us part of their midterm, so I have to do that online, and I wanted to get this done for you guys so it could go up on Saturday like usual. I ran out of pre-prepared chapters, so the next one or two may be a bit late just so I can build up a few to act as a buffer.

So two Beric POVS, the first written to set up for the other, and the second to show the instant the War Mode activated and what it means.

Rules of War Mode:

Anyone in War Zone has it.

Lose it when outside of War Zone

0 Life Points = Death.

Mausoleum of the Emperor permanently active to put a drawback on summoning strong monsters. But still possible if deemed worth it. Tributes are also possible though.

Monsters can be killed by people, or weaker monsters. Basically more realistic than just 'A attacks B and has more points'. So if a monster trips or something, it can be taken down by a weaker one. Just like a professional soldier can die to a rookie under the right conditions.

Damage done to a person is translated into loss of life points of roughly equivalent damage.

We also get Davos getting to KL and showing the state of the small council.

Quentyn partially explains Oberyn's actions. His alert occurs the moment the Iron Throne's forces entered the official Dornish border. Basically the same time Beric and co got theirs.

Well, hope you all liked this. Posting it basically as soon as I finished it.


	17. Chapter 16: Leaders, Betrayal

AN: Alright, let's get right into it.

ROBERT

KING'S LANDING-SMALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS

"And we are absolutely sure these are accurate?" Robert asked, knowing in his heart that they were.

"I am afraid so. Multiple reports of the same phenomenon on all fronts. There can be no doubt." Jon Arryn, his faithful hand and second father replied.

Four separate reports. Each detailing how the cards had been turned into weapons.

House Swann's raven from Stonehelm was the first. It detailed how Lord Gulian Swann and two of the ships under him had perished at Wyl. In total, that was about four hundred men lost. Those who had not drowned had been taken prisoner, and the nobles among them were being transported away from the borders where the fighting was happening, and to Ghaston Grey. The third ship managed to escape the battle quickly enough to report this "WAR MODE" that had caused the loses. It was not even that their life points had hit zero. House Wyl had placed monsters in the water as an ambush. Lord Gulian's ship was said to have been almost pulled under the water in the first moments of combat.

Robert would have to have Ser Barristan break the news to Ser Balon. His brother was now head of the house.

Then they got word from Kingsgrave. Sers Devan and Beric had succeeded at capturing the keep, but at a cost. On the bright side, they would be able to isolate House Wyl to Wyl and Vulture's Roost. A naval assault proved to be ineffective, but Beric could hold enough troops at Kingsgrave to prevent the other Dornish from assisting the Wyls.

The next two reports were actually about the same place. Lord Carron had failed in his assault on Blackmont, but while they were retreating, Perros Blackmont had led a force to try to finish them off. That was a mistake. No sooner had Lord Carron been chased away from Blackmont than Randyll Tarly's combined forces with House Mullendore reached there. With Perros taking over half of their surviving forces, Randyll Tarly managed to capture Lady Larra Blackmont and her heir Jynessa. Perros returned a day later and was killed by Reach men the moment he rode through the gate. Randyll Tarly laid the finishing blow with his Garoozis. Thus they had one report about a defeat at Blackmont, and one about a victory there.

"How are we only Now learning of this? Aren't the Free Cities constantly at war? They keep entire sellsword companies in reserve for them." Robert asked the council.

"Because there have been no wars. At least not by our standards." Davos spoke up. He was often quiet during meetings, but did add when they entered an area he knew.

"I spent a long time over in the Free Cities. When they have Sellswords fight over land, they send them out, have them fight in the field, and when one side loses they just stop claiming the land for awhile, until they can get another company. It's more like constant trials by combat, but with armies instead of single fighters. They have not actually had one city invade another for a while now."

"What about the Dothraki? Surely our Spider Lord would have heard about War Mode from their extinction?" Baelish asked, sending a sly grin straight at Varys.

"The difference between the Dothraki and other Raiders is nothing is official." Stannis pointed out. "We sent a declaration of war, telling them we were at war. The Dothraki and our own bandits don't announce it. The most warning their victims get is when the attack happens. That's the only way this makes sense."

"In any case, we need to look at how this changes our tactics." Tywin spoke up, He had just joined the council in no official capacity, but as the Warden of the West. He often tried to control the meetings direction, but the war was too big to ignore.

"It's obvious that we need to cancel our plans for the naval assault on Sunspear. If Wyl has taught us anything, it's that the waters are too treacherous." Robert pointed out, staring at a map of Dorne.

"So a land assault is our best chance? That will take far too long and we will have to fight through the entirety of Dorne." Renly pointed out.

"Maybe not. Pycelle! Remind me, what is the relationship between Dorne and the Stepstones?"

"Hu- uh, Your Grace, the Stepstones are a largely lawless land, ever since Prince Daemon abandoned his kingdom there. There have been attempts to reclaim it from both our predecessors and Tyrosh, but currently it is the pirates that rule it." Pycelle said as he looked at the Stepstones on the map.

"Stannis, when you were Master of Ships, how were we handling the pirates?"

"We had pushed them back east. They had Bloodstone and Grey Gallows, but we would have likely routed them had this war not forced our navy to retreat."

"What about this island, Sand Hill I believe?"

"I've been there, Your Grace. It technically belongs to House Tolland and was renamed after Ghost Hill, but they don't use it. Nothing really there, it's basically the desert of Dorne, but with saltwater surrounding it. Almost nothing grows there but some plants and some unique birds. Its size is impressive, but the name is too apt for anyone to live there. Only pirates and smugglers make use of it regularly." Davos spoke up again.

"Tell me Lord Davos, would there be many pirates or smugglers there currently?" Robert asked.

"War is harder than you think for pirates. Ports close down and business gets more dangerous. Most pirates either leave for more peaceful waters or embrace it and become Sellsails. The island should be empty. Too close to Dorne."

"And that is why it is perfect. We can have House Estermont secure it, and then we can have our forces waiting here strike at the Broken Arm from Sand Hill. They can overwhelm Ghost Hill and move straight into Sunspear." Robert summarized his plan.

"A bold move, sending troops so close to the heart of the enemy. Tell me, what if House Tolland realizes what you are planning? What if they wipe out the Estermont forces before our main host arrives?" Tywin asked his king and son by law.

"The Estermont forces will land on the northern peninsula of Sand Hill. They will be as far from House Tolland as possible while still being on their land." A thought suddenly occurred to Robert. "What about the ships blocking Dornish Ports? Why were they not affected by War Mode until Lord Gulian's attack? Are they safe?"

Varys spoke up. "My birds tell me that no Dornish lords have attacked the ships as of yet, but as they figure out War Mode, they may grow more bold. We could send a Raven to the ships with orders to pull back. From what I understand of this, War Mode was activated the moment Ser Beric entered Official Dornish land. The seas seem to be less owned. Had Lord Gulian's attack happened before Ser Beric, they may have made it to land and triggered it themselves."

Robert gritted his teeth. He should be out there. This was the first war where he was not leading from the frontlines. He should be. That was what he knew. If he was at Kingsgrave, he could come up with a way to smash through the Dornish defenses. He did his best thinking in the field, where he knew what he had on hand. Instead, he was forced to wait while his men fought and died for him. The forces he could strategize with reduced to meaningless numbers. How many swords did they lose? How are the Archers doing in terms of ammunition? Do they have enough to evenly split apart and hit multiple targets, or would it be better to stay united and face the enemy one at a time?

And due to simple geography, it was his Stormlander men who were on the front lines. Both of the losses had been Stormlander forces, while the victories had been led by Western and Reach men. To top it off, the Sparrows caused Lannister men to be redistributed to the Stormlands to help crush the fanatics. He was King of all Seven Kingdoms, but he had done little when he was Lord of Storm's End. Stannis was right. He was a terrible lord. Renly was little better, as his lack of awareness about his own seat being under attack had shown. Once this was over, he would have this High Sparrow or Divine Duelist or whoever's head, even if he had to cut it off himself with his own teeth. According to Varys he was mainly situated in the Riverlands. He knew Lord Hoster was ill, but to think that Edmure was so weak as to allow him to be unmolested.

"What shall be done about House Tyrell?" Baelish asked when the conversation had moved to the western front. "Lord Willas has locked himself away, and refuses to send aid. He may in fact decide to help avenge his dear friend."

"The Reach lords would never do such a thing. Willas was never much of a fighter anyway. Ser Loras is here in the capital. We could strip Willas of the title of Warden of the South, then Loras can be given it."

"As someone who is married to a Florent, I can assure you that doing so would spark another Civil War. The Reach lords would flock back to their keeps to protect themselves, and the Dornish would be free to reinforce their eastern forces." Stannis replied, looking at Renly as one did to a disappointing child.

They continued on like this for a while. After nearly four hours of throwing out strategies, they had moved to discussions of a certain hostage.

"Edric Dayne is heir to Starfall, and is in our own forces. Just remind Lord Addam of where his son is, and Starfall will fall in line." Pycelle suggested when Baelish brought attention to the boy's whereabouts.

"It would save us from fighting one of the main Dornish houses." Jon Arryn agreed, though begrudgingly.

"The boy was sick from the thought of facing his own countrymen in the field. He is being looked after by Lord Carron's bastard brother at Nightsong." Varys provided.

Before they could discuss Ned Dayne further, A knock on the door preluded Ser Jaime from walking into the chambers.

"We spotted two ships, one showing the banner of House Stark, the other of House Manderly." Jaime explained, keeping his eyes off his father who was staring at him with disgust that his son was acting as a glorified messenger.

"No sooner had those words left Jaime's mouth than Robert was on his feet. Before anyone else could speak, Robert jumped over the council table-to the genuine shock of everyone present that he could do so- and ran out, declaring the meeting over for today.

The moment he had gotten the message, he had ceased the dark thoughts of war. Instead, Ned was coming. It had been far too long. He rushed to the stables before realizing he had forgotten to breathe. In the time it took for the stablehands to make sure the King was not dying on their watch, Sers Jaime and Arys Oakheart managed to catch up to him.

Soon they were all at the docks, watching the ships pull into port. After they were secured, Ned walked down the gangplank. When he spotted the King, he immediately kneeled.

Robert grinned and walked up to him, and signaled for Ned to stand. They looked each other in the eyes.

"You got fat." Robert said with a straight face.

Ned looked at him with that damned honorable Stark look, silently challenging him on his hypocrisy.

Robert burst into a fit of laughter, and ran up and embraced the brother he should have had.

Before Ned could either kneel or embrace him back, his feet were off the ground and a loud CRACK was heard.

Robert dropped him, "NED! You okay?!" He asked as the Warden of the North felt his back.

"Fine, Your Grace, Hit some rough weather while I slept, I think you actually just fixed my back."

Robert laughed again and embraced him a second time, but more gently. "Ahh, it's good to see you again Ned."

"You too Robert, I wish it was under better circumstances." Ned said.

Robert ended the hug, and took a small breath. "Yes, well, we have work to do. I think the meeting is still going on. Ser Arys can escort your men to some housing. How many did you end up with."

"Counting the crews, who are part of the Manderly forces, we have about thirteen hundred soldiers."

Robert then thought of something. "Ned, have you heard anything about the fighting in Dorne, or have you been on the ship the whole time?"

"Last I heard, we were still patrolling the borders. I take it fighting as started?" Ned asked, putting on the lordly face that Robert tried to break throughout their childhoods.

"Ned, you are not gonna believe the newest developments."

DORAN

DORNE-SUNSPEAR

Prince Doran Martell stood and walked around for the first time in years without feeling pain. He looked down at his Duel Disk, the object that allowed him to do so.

D:8000

It took some experimenting, but he found that increasing his Life Points above the usual 4000 increased his body as well. If he survived this war, then he hoped the improvements stayed as well.

Shaking his head, he turned back to the map of Dorne. "Where are they?" he asked his advisors.

Maester Caleotte looked at the reports they had received. "A raven from Vulture's Roost that a scout saw Kingsgrave fall. Blackmont reported driving off a Stormlander army, but House Dayne of High Hermitage claims a Reach force on the west of the Torentine heading North. The letter claims Lord Darkstar tried to fight them off but they were too fast... but considering the Darkstar, it is unlikely. Wyl remains standing, having taken few losses from the naval attack."

Doran looked over the map, considering all the other Keeps and Houses. "And what of our own people? Have they begun to disperse?"

"Yes My Prince, Sandstone And Hellholt are leaving only the bare minimum of men to hold the keeps to buy the rest of us time. Yronwood has sent Quentyn and his friends to The Tor. Lord Yronwood will face the Iron Throne with all the men of Dorne who refuse to retreat."

Doran shook his head in agreement. "Once Yronwood falls, we shall have the remaining keeps and villages disappear into the desert, just as our ancestors did against Aegon. Until then, have them continue to stock up on food and water, taking it away both feeds our people and starves the Iron Throne's. What of their ships?"

"They retreated a bit after word came of War Mode. Some lords asked permission to engage."

"Send Ravens to them denying it. It would only weaken ourselves when we disappear. We have no real chance to win this war, we just need to be too difficult to defeat." Doran spoke, and the meeting slowed to a close.

War Mode was a boon to them, evening the odds in the initial batlles, but Doran knew it would only be temporary. Unlike Dorne, the Iron Throne had enough men to continuously throw at them. And with each soldier came monsters of their own.

They had done some experimenting with War Mode to figure out how it works. Perhaps the biggest part was the time limit. After a card was used, it could not be reused for awhile. Spell and trap cards took a full day to be reusable, while a monster's level determined it. Level one Monsters took an hour to be reused, while Level eight took two days. They could be summoned at the cost of Life points, or sacrifice other monsters like in the game. However, you could not summon two weak monsters and then a strong one immediately, it seemed they had to remain around for a bit before they were sacrificed, leaving an opening for the enemy to attack.

Doran walked throughout Sunspear. It was good to do so under his own power again. And everywhere he went, Areo Hotah shadowed him.

He found himself in the living area of the castle, where he and his siblings had slept and played, and he and Oberyn had watched their own sibling do so. Now he was the last one left.

Ellaria and and her children had gone to Planky Town, and rode the Greenblood to Vaith, where they would wait out the war. Daeron Vaith would keep them disguised as servants, only a few of the people running Vaith would be aware of their true identities. If needed, Daeron was willing to surrender without a fight granted that whoever took Vaith would swear to leave the Smallfolk alone.

"Father?" A voice called out, pulling Doran out of his sad musings.

That was right, he was not alone. Trystane was still here. He had originally thought of sending him with Ellaria, but some bastard daughters would be less recognizable than the third in line to the Principality.

"Trystane, what is the matter?" Doran asked his son. The only family he had left in Sunspear. "I miss everyone." The boy stated simply.

"I know." Doran said, not feeling in the mood to explain the whole political mess going on to one so young.

"Will you play Cyvasse?" Trystane asked.

"I would love to. I need a break and to sit down." Doran said with a small laugh as he and his son walked to Trystane's room.

ADDAM DAYNE

DORNE-STARFALL

A:100

"T-traitor." Addam Dayne, Lord of Starfall said through the blood drowning his throat, as he looked up from the ground, at the man he thought of as a cousin. One who he loved because of duty, and hated because of experience. The man who had him pinned by his Ape Fighter. The red furred monkey pinning his arm so he could not reach his Duel Disk.

Gerold Dayne stood above his cousin. "Come now, we both know that the sword is wasted gathering dust on a mantle. It thirsts for blood. And I am the one who can quench it."

He walked up to the mantle, and took Dawn down. He unsheathed the blade, but the moment it was out of its scabbard, it suddenly jerked towards him, as if he was about to stab himself. Right before it did, it suddenly stopped, its white light fading, and turning dark. Addam noticed Gerold's arm also glowing, but where Dawn glowed white, his arm was purple.

Before Addam's very eyes, he witnessed the blade that had been in his family for ten thousand years be corrupted by some dark magic of some sort.

Darkstar swung the blade in the air, its metal somehow changed to a purple, testing it out.

"I never really understood why it was called Dawn. I prefer Dusk, the sword that shows people the final night." Gerold said to his cousin, casually walking up to him.

"Y-you think you will get away with this? That Doran or Robert would accept your kinslaying?" Addam yelled, flashing back to his wife and sister's deaths mere minutes ago.

"Kinslaying? Dear Cousin, did you hit your head? You convinced a disgraced alchemist to come to Starfall to make your own cache of Wildfire. It is what I have been telling Doran in my ravens. Unfortunately, he was disgraced for a reason. By the time the strange wildfire finally ceased, all of Starfall was destroyed. Do not worry. I have enough love for you to give you a more merciful end than that."

And with that, Darkstar dropped Dusk, and let gravity end his cousin.

The last thing Addam saw was purple flames enveloping his vision.

AN: Originally, this was just gonna be Robert and Doran, a look at the two leaders of the war, but I thought it was too short, so I threw in Darkstar stealing Dawn. Just a little set up for something WAAAAY down the line. Thought about making it more of a mystery, but I figured most of you would guess it was him.

So, we get how Essos did not experience War Mode first, and a look at how the war is progressing on both sides. And then we get a bit of opportunistic kinslaying.

Next Week, instead of a new chapter here, I am going to post my second story. "Power Shift." After reading it, if anyone can come up with a better name, please tell me. I will credit you.


	18. Chapter 17.5 KOT OMAKES

AN: Just a bunch of Non-canon Omakes to celebrate my first April Fools on this site. None are cannon (Except for 4, but not for this story). Regular chapters will be out on the weekend.

OMAKE 1: GAME ACCURACY IS A CRUEL MISTRESS

ROBB STARK

NORTHERN ENCAMPMENT

"Your Grace! I bring great news!" A minor lord said as he approached the King of the North.

"What is it my loyal vassal?" Robb asked. Surrounding him was the Greatjon and all the other major nobles of the North.

The Lord pointed to the foreigner he had brought with him. "This woman claims to be a magic user from a land called Fodlan. She says she can send a small strike team right in the Red Keep to kill the Bastard known as Joffrey!" He explained.

Robb had a grin grow on his face. "Well then,if this is true, we can avenge my father immediately!" All the lords voiced their loud approval.

All of them gathered their best armor and equipment, and as one battalion, the mage sent them all right into the throne room.

"Ahhhhh!" What a blind man would perceive as a five year old girl's scream of fright was actually that of the boy who sat on the Iron Throne.

"HOUND, WHERE ARE THE REST OF MY KINGSGUARD!" The boy yelled at the scarred man who was holding a book filled with images of women without clothing.

"They're out on their lunch break."

"Since when do they get lunch without protecting me?" Joffrey screeched.

"Since they unionized." Sandor replied while flipping the page.

"WHEN DID THEY UNIONIZE?" Joffrey asked incredulously.

"You really don't pay attention in the longer meetings do you?" Sandor said as he noted to pay a whore to try that position the next time he was at Littlefinger's.

"Joffrey! We have come to have you answer for your crimes!" Robb yelled. He looked back at his men, a battalion of the lords of the North. "There he stands! The man who stole my father's life. Your Lord's life. Your friend's life! Shall we take vengeance?" He asked, to which they all raised their weapons and charged at the lone false king….And all ran past him without so much as touching him.

"What the….You missed? How did you all miss? You all ran right past him!" Robb asked, confused.

"Huh, guess your accuracy wasn't a hundred percent." Sandor said before returning to the only book he liked.

OMAKE 2: ANOTHER WORLD

JON

THE WALL

Jon and Sam had nothing better to do as they shared watch duty than look up at the stars.

"Hey Jon?" Sam spoke.

"What Sam?" Jon asked as he warmed himself by the fire.

"You ever wonder, if something that happened centuries ago had changed slightly, how our lives would be today?" Sam asked.

Jon thought to himself. He had thought about him being legitimate, but nothing from really long ago. "I doubt it would affect our lives too much."

MEANWHILE, IN A PARALLEL WORLD.

Jon jumped into the trench, his Type2 energy sword in his right, and a Needler in his left.

"Where is everyone with the reinforcements?" He asked Sam, who jumped in the trench a moment later.

"Well, I saw Sokka, Kazuma and Subaru have Dormammu in a standstill, and Thanos was about to kill Batman, but Tywin Lannister German Suplexed him and now they are both safe. I also saw Ainz and Vader about to duel before jumping in."

"Well where is the rest of the backup?" Jon asked.

"According to Ino, Kylo intercepted Caedus and they are having a duel, and Harry and Naruto are fighting Gintoki on the western flank."

"So then, we are alone." Jon said grimly.

"It looks like it." Sam nodded.

"Well might as well go out swinging!" Jon said as he stood and turned Super Saiyan.

"Aye" Sam said as he activated the Rinnegan.

BACK IN WESTEROS

"Yeah, you're probably right." Sam said as he joined Jon at the fire.

OMAKE 3: BEFORE HE WAS MAD

"Grandfather?" Tommen said as he looked at the hand.

"Yes Your Grace?" Tywin asked the new king.

"You were first the hand of the Mad King right?"

"Yes, I was. It's the reason he was able to have any peace during his reign at all." Tywin said as he continued to sign documents.

"Why did he pick you?" The young king asked.

"Well before he was king, I was a page and squire during his grandfather's court. You could say we basically grew up together." Tywin said as he finished one document.

"So you knew him before he was mad? What was he like?" Tommen asked.

Tywin looked up and had a thousand yard stare in his eyes as he remembered his youth in King's Landing

DECADES AGO

"I can not believe we just did that!" Tywin was freaking out. He was just 14, despite his upbringing, he did not know what to do.

"Relax Ty. Everything worked out fine. Now help me get Steffon out of the Septa robes before anyone finds us." Aerys spoke to his friend while also trying to remove the small hood from Steffon's head.

The box they had just carried into the Red Keep shifted slightly, due to the man inside.

"Relax? Aery, we just KIDNAPPED THE HIGH SEPTON! Are you seriously going to hold him hostage because the faith was three coppers short on a loan payment?" Tywin was incredulous to his friend's plan.

"Why not? It worked with the Sealord of Braavos remember?" Aerys pointed out.

"WHAT? Tywin asked, confused.

"Oh right, you had to go back to Casterly Rock when we did that." Steffon muffled as he finally untangled himself from his disguise.

PRESENT DAY

"You know, looking back I honestly can't believe none of us noticed the signs." Tywin told his grandson.

OMAKE 4: A LOOK AHEAD AT A FUTURE WORK.

"My lord, I have some...questions about what we plan to do with your servant." Davos said, still trying to comprehend what they had just learned.

"I think it is obvious that I must fight in this war." Stannis replied. "If only to make sure someone worse does not use it to destroy the realm. And if I win, I can clear the corruption from the land once and for all, as Robert should have done."

"Very well then, My Lord." Davos responded. If that was Stannis' goal, then Davos would support him however he could.

"Speaking of her, where is Saber now?" Stannis asked. He had been too busy contemplating the information while handling his duties as lord of Dragonstone.

"Oh, she ordered the construction of a theater stage and is performing for the small folk now. I think you can see it out this window," Davos said, leading Stannis over.

There, they saw a blonde girl in a red dress with a transparent front on stage, trying to perform a play, with some of the infatuated younger guards helping out as the other actors.

"UMU!" Saber yelled loud enough for them to hear from the Solar.

OMAKE 5: PERMANENT FAVORITE

JAIME

CASTERLY ROCK

"Ohhh. Jaime." Cersei moaned into his ear.

"Cersei." Jaime mumbled himself as the two laid naked in his room. He doubted anything could ruin this moment.

"Jaime have you…" Tywin said as he walked in and saw them.

They all froze. Everyone was unsure of what was going to happen.

Tywin turned around. "TYRION! NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO YOU ARE NOW MY PERMANENT FAVORITE CHILD!" He yelled as he walked out the room.

AN: And there you have it. Took me like an hour to write this. Shortest thing I ever wrote, but it was mainly to just give you some laughs.

The first one I mentioned in a previous chapter's AN. Three Houses is the only FE game I know.

The Second one was just a random though explosion I had one day for fun. Same with 3 and 5.

4, as stated, is a look at my planned FATE/GOT crossover. As you can see, one of the Master-Servant duos are Stannis and Nero. I won't actually wright it for awhile, as I stated in Power Shift's AN that I need to do more research.

Feel free to comment which one was your favorite or just if I succeeded in giving you a reason to smile. As stated before, regular chapters will resume on the weekend.


	19. KOT Chapter 18: Reactions, Front Lines Betrayal 2

AN: So, I apparently forgot to put Maester Caleotte's name down and instead referred to him as Maester X last chapter. It's fixed now!

Alright then, here we go.

DORAN

SUNSPEAR

"Starfall has been destroyed?" Doran asked his advisors, unable to fully comprehend such a drastic upset.

"Aye, I am afraid so." Maester Caleotte murmured after informing his Prince. "We had received word from Ser Gerold, who had been ordered to Starfall to unite the two Dayne households to better pose a challenge to the Throne's army. But by the time he arrived, the place was burnt down by purple flames. He claims when the flames died down that Starfall resembled Harrenhal."

Doran was at a loss of words. The Dayne's were one of his most powerful bannermen, and though their heir Edric was a squire turned hostage as far as they knew, they had said they would defend their lands at the very least. Now they, and their forces of three thousand soldiers had all burned to death. It was a hefty blow to both the long and short term situation in Dorne.

"Do we know the cause?" He asked.

"We had previously received a raven saying that a former alchemist from King's Landing had been invited to Dorne by House Dayne. They must have had an accident with the Wildfire, no doubt planning to use it against the Crown."

Doran looked at the map. A family almost as old as Dorne itself if the legends were to be believed. And it was gone because they thought to try an unexpected way to combat superior numbers.

"In any case, Ser Gerold said in his raven that we did not have enough men left to himself to defend the Torrentine. He is leaving it up to Blackmont and taking his men to Yronwood and making a stand there."

Doran nodded at that. He never liked Gerold and his ridiculous self anointed title of Darkstar, but the boy was a decent fighter and High Hermitage being emptied out would deny the Throne of any resources when they inevitably take the small keep. Securing the larger keeps would do more than fighting in every small keep or castle.

"Why Yronwood? Is not Skyreach closer?" Doran asked as he examined a map, moving the star shaped piece from Starfall.

"He did not say my Prince, but...If I would hazard a guess, I would put stock in the rumors about him and Jeyne Fowler. Knowing lord Franklyn, he may see it as an acceptable accident if Ser Gerold is put on the front lines. In any case, it is too late to get a message to him now to go there."

Doran nodded as he examined the part of the map that was most concerning. The Lion piece just north of Skyreach.

Kingsgrave was held by Ser Beric Dondarrion, but most of the forces he had invaded with had continued on to Skyreach, and were beginning to siege the castle. Franklyn had surrounded the keep using Yellow Luster Shield, which seemed to make the keep sturdier and deterred any direct attacks for now, but Daven Lannister had set up a siege. Yellow Luster Shield would not last forever, especially if Daven used De-spell or something. A flanking attack from what remained of the Daynes could give Franklyn the opportunity to launch his own attack and kill a Lannister. Any revenge on Tywin would be sweet to Doran, even if it was a cousin Tywin had little personal relation to.

"At the very least, Skyreach will hold long enough for the rest of us to get back into focus. Our preparations have been halted for long enough.." Doran said as he looked towards the greatest distraction from the war. Ghaston Grey.

A prison meant to hold the dangerous Dornish who were too cruel to let free. War Mode had affected them as well. It took awhile for them to get word, but the prisoners had also used War Mode. They had turned their monsters on the gaolers and killed them all. There were a total of fifty prisoners in there, ranging from a smallfolk farmer named Arnolf who decided to see what the King tasted when the Rat King tricked him into eating his son, to Daeron Uller, the uncle of the current Lord Uller, who was discovered to have informed Robert's forces of prince Rhaegar's plans on the Trident for a promise of Hellholt when the Targeryeans fell. Had he not then decided to go on to sack the Stormlands before heading back to Dorne, Robert may have given it to him. But he did, so Robert revealed the man's treachery as an appeasement to Dorne after the war.

And now they were all free.

Trebor Jordayne was sending his men out from The Tor to capture or kill them, but they were Dornish. They knew how to use the desert just as well as their pursuers. And if they were captured by the Throne, they may reveal secrets no Dornish had ever surrendered.

The war was not all lost just yet. Wyl still held out, it was isolated and Beric Dondarrion was likely moving to strike at them, but he had not yet. Even the abandoned keeps were sending their men to reinforce places like Yronwood or Salt Shore. And The Crown's fleets were beginning to retreat, if only because they were running low on supplies. The one's near Sunspear had left just this morning, but Hellholt said they were being replaced by ships stocked up from the Arbor.

"Are there any other reports I should be aware of?" Doran asked.

Myles, Caleotte's assistant, cleared his throat. "There is one thing, A letter from the Red Keep. More terms of surrender." He said as he pulled the scroll out and handed it to the Prince.

Doran grabbed it and unrolled it. Robert was ordering him to lay down his people's weapons and decks, and surrender before any more blood was shed. In exchange, he would keep his position of Prince of Dorne in the family, but have to name a Castellan to do the actual work for his life. No doubt Varys spoke quite vividly of how much time he spent in the Water Gardens. But if Robert thought that was because he hated the work of being Prince, then he was mistaken.

Other concessions the throne could make included arranging good marriages for his children, clemency for the lords who would surrender, or…

Doran froze as he spotted the last point on the scroll. Something Robert said Tywin would be willing to part with if the war ended, which no doubt was written without Tywin's knowledge.

The Mountain.

ROBERT

KING'S LANDING-SMALL COUNCIL

"Are we sure this report is accurate?" Ned asked, breaking the silence of the small council since Pycelle read the note out loud.

They had gathered like this every day in order to discuss the war and what to do next. Meanwhile Jon Arryn saw to the day to day running of the city and Crownlands. Today, they had heard news that was hard to believe.

House Dayne was gone. Burned away by WILDFIRE of all things. At least the main branch. They still had Edric, but he was just a squire.

Pycelle cleared his throat, "Yes, I am afraid so. What reason would they have to lie? Starfall is close enough to the Reach for a lord to confirm it without falling into any trap. There is no reason to lie about this." Pycelle spoke just above a mutter.

Robert looked at his friend and understood his pain. By all accounts, Ashara was Ned's first woman. She may be gone after Ned killed Arthur, but he likely still had a soft spot for the girl's family.

"The real question is...why does this Ser Gerold tell us of his cousins' death?" Stannis brought up.

"I believe I can attest to that, My lords." Varys spoke up. "Ser Gerold Dayne has a small keep of his own, but it paled in comparison to Starfall. Now, with Starfall gone, High Hermitage is in the position of being the seat of House Dayne, but the man who is its lord is not the head of the house. Likely, he hopes to provide us with information so that we can ensure he keeps his keep and the lands of Starfall."

"Seems easy enough." Renly spoke up.

"Aye, when the fighting is done and it is time to punish the lords, simply claim that house Dayne's tragedy was punishment enough, and leave Ser Gerold the task of rebuilding his once great house. " Littlefinger agreed.

"And what of young Edric? He is before Gerold in the succession, yet you speak of passing him over for this landed knight." Stannis pointed out.

"A loss of a keep such as this is unheard of. Even Harrenhal and Summerhall both were additional keeps, not the ancestral one." Pycelle spoke again.

"The Dornish have Vulture's Roost. If need be we can give that to Ser Gerold and have Edric take High Hermitage. Or the other way around if need be. Now, before we go rewarding those who help us, let us get back to actually winning the war." Tywin spoke up, giving a solution.

"I agree." Ned said, though it was obvious he hated his own statement. "What is important is that the war ends as quickly as possible. How goes the plan with Sand Hill?"

"House Estermont has secured the island. They actually already started using it as a place to restock supplies for the ships along the Dornish coasts. They are ready to house additional troops on the island." Davos Seaworth spoke up.

"So then, we shall fill the ships with our men, send them to Sand Hill, Take Ghost Hill, and rush straight to Sunspear?" Renly summarized.

"Aye. Hopefully by then Doran will be willing to sue for peace. He will lose much, but I plan on giving him something that may just tip the scales in our favor."

"And what pray tell is that?" Tywin asked the king. It was obvious that this was the first he had heard of this.

"The Mountain."

The room was silent. Everyone was staring at Robert, everyone but Stannis, who was aware of it, and had had the raven flown to Dragonstone first to keep Pycelle unaware.

"You would have us give the Westerlands' best warrior?" Tywin asked simply. "Might I remind you that this war is because Dorne attacked the Westerlands. Why should we have to lose more?"

"Because, even if it does not bring Dorne back fully, it will smooth out the main reason for their hatred." Robert declared. He looked his father by law in the eye. "The real question is, what will it take to outweigh Ser Gregor's usefulness?"

Tywin stared him down for a moment. "One of the other conditions is control over who Princess Arianne marries, is it not?"

"Aye. A husband not from Dorne, even if Arriane desires revenge like her father and his brother, someone who can hold her back, or at least not let her poison her children against us."

"Tyrion." Tywin stated.

"I-what?" Robert asked, confused. Tywin's hatred of the imp was legendary. Now he was arranging a marriage of such a level that it was just under his and Cersei's? There must have been a catch. "Why him?"

"He fits the criteria. He will not let her challenge us, if he dies of mysterious causes we can put her under too much scrutiny to call her banners, and he is clever enough to tell us what she is plotting without her realizing it."

"Is there anything else, or is that it? Robert asked, starting to get an idea of what Tywin was planning.

"Give me leeway to arrange her brother's marriages as well, and I will give you Gregor and erase two thirds of the Crown's debt." Tywin announced.

Robert considered this. Such an act would greatly help the Crown's finances. But if Tywin had all three wed by Lannisters, then Dorne would become nothing more than a puppet of the Westerland.

"You may arrange one of her brother's marriages. But it can not be to another Lannister." Robert declared.

"In that case, I will erase one fourth of the debt." Tywin said.

"Very well then. Now as to Ser Gregor himself. After the War is officially over, you shall order him to do one final attack on the Dornish as a reminder of House Lannister's wrath. But, when he attacks, he will be ambushed by Dornish forces that outnumber him. If he manages to escape, we will leave our troops at the border to intercept him. If War Mode has ended, it will come down to a duel. Do you know what his deck is?" Robert outlined the plan

"It is a pure power deck. It's filled with nothing but high level and high attack monsters. A Gravity Bind or Crush Card Virus should destroy any chance of victory. He actually has a fairly poor duel history. He loses ten times for every victory.

Robert could not help but feel he had been played. Tywin was explaining how The Mountain was useless since the cards appeared. Had Robert known that, he could have used that fact to arrange better terms for the debt. Erasing an eighth of the total debt, and a fourth of the Lannisters would be very useful, but Robert could have gotten it to half of it had he known beforehand.

They continued on the meeting, discussing strategies and what places would best use reinforcements.

Northern and Vale men were already marching to Dorne to hold the lands while Westerland and Stormlander forces would continue south. Once the northernmost part of Dorne was secured, they would not have to worry about being flanked by the Dornish.

Once the meeting was over, Ned came by and talked to him. It was of course, about The Mountain.

"It's strange. He should die, and I am all for justice, but he should be arrested and handled the proper way. Not by serving him as an offering to cease a conflict."

"You and your damned honor Ned! Doran gets his justice, we punish a man Varys has informed me is a cause of war all on his own before he can do so, and the fighting ends faster. Like it or not, this is how we get things done."

"I know that. But it does not change the taste it leaves. Especially regarding the children's marriages."

"Ah, I knew you would object to that. But look! You found love in a marriage to a woman you knew of but did not know. If you're so worried, then try to give those two the answers you have." Robert tried to suggest.

"Speaking of marriage, I was honestly expecting you to arrange one between our kids. You said something similar during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Yet you have not brought it up once." Ned pointed out.

Robert had a more embarrassed look on his face, "Yes, uh, that. Well" Robert sighed. "Ned, would you ever betray me?"

Ned looked at the man. Robert actually began to fear what his oldest friend was going to respond to. When he did respond, it was with his own question.

"Would you ever seek to kill or harm my blood?"

"Of course not! I would never harm you or your family, and I will swear as many vows as it takes to get you to believe that." Robert sighed, relieved. He should have known. Ned had lost all his family save for one brother who for some reason preferred the company of thieves and rapers. Ned had to rebuild his entire family by himself. If Robert ever threatened them, he would pick his kids, they were all he had left of the family that was taken from him.

"As long as that remains true, I will never abandon you."

"Yes! Exactly. I do not need to earn your loyalty, but other houses... There are still those who would name me Usurper. If they decide they have had enough of me, I need all the allies I can get. So, I was thinking of having my kids marry to houses that would disway betrayal. Had Oberyn not started this whole bloody war, I may have sent Myrcella off to Yronwood, or had one of their daughters come here for Tommen. That would make the Martells think twice about trying anything. Alas, it's too late for that plan."

"And Joffrey?" Ned asked. "Come to think about it, I haven't seen the lad around much."

"Joffrey...Joffrey is his mother's son. Joffrey did complain that he should go out there, but when she heard it, she threatened to burn the Red Keep down if I did not keep him away."

"You have a harder time connecting with him?" Ned surmised.

"Aye. He's just so different from me. I want him to grow into a good king, someone I know will lead Westeros better than I did for most of my reign. I just don't know how to get through to him."

"Perhaps some time away from court would do him some good? I could bring him to Winterfell, or even Tywin could handle him for a bit. You know my opinion on him, but he is the kind of man who would mold Joffrey into a competent ruler." Ned said while considering the heir to the throne.

"Mayhaps. I'm gonna give it a year. A year to get through to him. If not, then I may have him be a ward. That will also give me time to get Cersei off my back."

BERIC

5 MILES SOUTH OF VULTURE'S ROOST

Say what you will about War Mode. It made travel considerably quicker.

The soldiers who had beast, winged beast, or machine monsters brought them to good use in transporting the soldiers without actually tiring. Beric should know, as he was currently riding on the back of a Mystic Horseman. The centaur monster did not require any rest as the rest of the soldiers followed behind them. Those actually a part of cavalry rode their own steeds, but the foot soldiers needed the monsters. Beric's horse had ended up being a casualty of taking Kingsgrave, so he rode Mystic Horseman. He looked to the men under his command. Some of them were his marcher men, but most were the Lannister reinforcements. This time, all of them knew what to expect from battle.

Within hours, they had arrived at Vulture's Roost. Almost as fresh as if the castles were adjacent.

"Alright now! Set traps up! Quick!" He yelled to his men as he put his own traps down. A Magical Cylinder and Spikeshield with Chain. Thousands of Duel Disks did similarly.

"Think they are gonna wait us out?" Ser Tytos Stackspear, a distant cousin of Lord Selmund asked. There were guards on the walls. They knew they were under siege.

"The longer they take to attack us, the more time we both have to organize our forces and summon strong monsters. Let us see what they are planning. Karl!" Beric declared.

Ser Karl Buckler was a knight in service to Storm's End, but he was visiting his original home of Bronzegate when war was declared, so he had joined the war forces.

Karl ran up and brought out a spell card. One that was almost useless, but War Mode turned into a powerful weapon.

"Fengsheng Mirror!" the knight called out. This card would practically be useless, as few people used spirit cards, but it allowed one to look at a foes hand. And that translated to giving them a view of the inside of the keep.

The mirror materialized in front of them. It showed an interior filled with soldiers summoning monsters, as was to be expected. It panned over to show more men doing the same thing. Beric tried to focus on the monsters themselves.

'A Berfomet, Feral Imp, Gearfried, that will be a tough one. Prevent Rat-likely for protection. And...SHIT!'

"THEY GOT A JINZO!" He yelled to everyone in earshot. That was when the gates opened and the monsters came forth.

Those who did not hear or understand tried to use their traps, only to be shocked when they did not work. The Feral Imp charged straight at him, only to be cut down by Mystic Horseman. To his side, he noticed the soldiers who had panicked before starting to engage. The Berfomet was engaged in the air with a Baby Dragon and a Sonic Bird, their riders unable to land before battle began.

'It won't last' Beric thought to himself. So long as Jinzo was safe in Vulture's Roost, they would be unable to use any traps. Neither would the Dornish, but that meant they prepared for it.

As he thought that, he saw one soldier be ripped off his horse and beheaded by a slash of Gearfried's sword. Gearfried then looked at him.

Kicking Mystic Horseman like he would a horse, he started to take evasive maneuvers. He needed to think of something fast. He began rummaging through his deck, that was when he spotted the card that could save him. But the cost…

Mystic Horseman just avoided a fatal strike.

'Fuck the cost, At worst I die later than I would now.'

He knew if Mystic Horseman died, he would be thrown off and killed the old fashioned way.

He called out the card he had just found.

"Acid Rain"

The card faded, and the once clear skies filled with dark clouds. As a Stormlander, Beric was familiar with it.

Gearfried went to cut Mystic Horseman in two, separating the man from the horse half, only to be wrapped up in a chain, as Mystic Horseman wielded Spikeshield with Chain.

Acid Rain was a card that destroyed all machines on the field. And despite Jinzo being inside Vulture's Roost, he was still affected by the battle. Now that he was gone, the trap cards had returned.

Everyone began activating them. The Dornish had not set any, so they could do nothing but watch as Berfomet was trapped in a Spellbinding Circle and cut down by a Baby Dragon with Dragon Treasure. An Axe Raider has his axe thrown back at him from a Magical Cylinder, and all the monsters fell victim to traps of one kind or another. Before the gates could be closed Beric and the soldiers who remained on their steeds charged the keep, hoping to take it quickly. With aerial support not seen since the Dance, they busted into the courtyard of the once abandoned keep.

Once inside, they were able to take the Wyl soldiers by surprise. One of the cavalry men used Nightmare Steel Cage, locking those with the strongest monsters already out from attacking. Beric drew his sword, and while Mystic Horseman cut down those in front, Beric cut down those who approached by the side. A Hitotsu-Me Giant tried to attack them, but Beric blinded it before another soldier stabbed it in the leg with his spear, sending the green giant falling on against the wall, where a third soldier stabbed it in the heart to keep it down.

Suddenly, Beric was knocked off of Mystic Horseman, who had also lost the Spikeshield and had a hole in his head. He looked over to see Jinzo, resurrected by Monster Reborn it seemed. And it had its sights right on him. The man who controlled Jinzo right next to him.

Beric checked his Life Points.

B:2950

He could hardly afford to be hit and lose most of his Life Points. But, before they could attack Beric, the soldier on Baby Dragon tried to attack them himself, holding something in his hand. Jinzo barely acknowledged him as it shot light from his eyes and killed Baby Dragon. As the soldier was falling, he threw the thing in his hand at the monster. It was a cup of some kind, and it's contents spilled onto Jinzo. This actually seemed to empower him. He went to strike at the soldier, now Beric could tell that he was a boy, probably a squire. Before he could, the squire activated a trap card.

"Gravity Bind!" Suddenly, Jinzo and other monsters on the field were stuck, frozen in a sphere of blue light.

Beric looked at the cup the squire had thrown. He then recognized it.

'Forbidden Chalice! He empowered Jinzo, but took his ability to seal traps away!' Beric realized.

Walking up to Jinzo, Beric buried his sword in the burn victim's brain, ending the monster for a second time in that battle. He turned to Jinzo's owner, and the man yielded, his Duel Disk sending the message out.

It was at that moment that Beric recognized the man, Ser Bryan Wyl, second son of Wyl. With his surrender, the battle was over.

Beric ordered his own men to take Ser Bryan into a room befitting his status, and he himself went over to the squire who had saved his life.

The boy had broken his leg when he fell, and had taken damage from the rest of the battle. He was down to just 1500 Life Points.

"That was some quick thinking there son. What's your name?" Beric asked after making sure the boy was in no immediate danger of dying.

"Podrick Ser, Podrick Payne." The boy answered.

"Well then Podrick, what made you think to do that?" Beric asked.

"I figured it would give us back our traps, and I still had Gravity Bind. And I don't have many strong cards actually."

Beric smiled at the boy. "I take it you're a squire?" The boy nodded. "Where is the knight in charge of you?"

"My uncle, Ser Cedric. He was on the ground though."

"Well then, let's go find your uncle." Beric brought Podrick up and held his arm on his shoulder, to keep the boy off his broken leg.

Some hours later, when the Dornish were in chains or restricted to certain rooms, a count was made of the dead.

The Dornish had totaled 500. 200 had died, another 60 were on the brink, with less than a thousand or Life Points when the battle ended, and injuries to match. Ser Bryan had avoided any injury, and surrendered before he could be attacked.

On their own side, Beric had brought 2000 men, and they had mainly suffered at the beginning of the battle. 167 died before he had destroyed Jinzo, and another hundred had died before the battle had ended. Ser Tytos was among the first group. Their injured however was nearly a third of the survivors. Ser Karl was among those.

After the count was given to him, Beric ordered the most injured be treated first so they could defend against an attack from Wyl, though he doubted such a thing would happen. He then went to speak to Ser Bryan.

He was in a room in the main keep, down a side passage from the main hall. He wore full armor, emblazoned with a leg being bit by snakes.

"Ser Beric, I take it you have come to discuss using me as a hostage?" The knight asked.

"Mayhaps. You are a second son, but your mother can not hold out now that Wyl is completely isolated. It is better for everyone if this ends quickly."

"By all means, send a raven. I doubt it will do much. My mother was a handmaid to Doran's mother. She will not betray the Martells easily. She would rather see Wyl become a second Starfall." He said in a cavalier way.

Beric's mind stopped. What did he say?

"What do you mean a second Starfall?" He asked, scared of the answer.

Ser Bryan looked at him, and then a sense of realization appeared on his face. "My gods, you haven't heard?"

Beric was then told what happened. Wildfire. Disgraced alchemist. Secret Weapon. No survivors.

Even as he realized the woman he loved was dead, his thoughts were more of what he would tell Young Ned.

QUENTYN

YRONWOOD

Darkstar rode into Yronwood with what remained of House Dayne's troops. Compared to what one of Dorne's Principal Houses should be capable of, they were a mere fraction of what they should be. What once was a house capable of controlling thousands, had been reduced to a mere 200 fighting men.

'At least they are here to help hold Yronwood. Gerold could probably just surrender and get off light.' Quentyn thought to himself. He supposed the man had some honor after all.

He watched from the walls as Ser Gerold met with Lord Yronwood, and the two talked about the war. He could only hear small pieces, but one thing he heard well was that a Dayne scout reported a battle about to start at Skyreach. Outnumbered, Lord Franklyn would not last long once a monster managed to breach the gate.

Gerold then motioned, and some Dornish men brought forth men in chains. From what Quentyn overheard, they had ambushed a scouting party, and took them all prisoner to interrogate.

Later, Quentyn and Arch were heading to dinner when they saw Ser Gerold getting into an argument with Drink.

"You have something to say to me? Spit it out." Darkstar said.

"Yeah, how are you alive? Every other Dayne dies but you?" Drink said with an accusation evident in his voice.

"What are you talking about? I don't live at Starfall. I was preparing High Hermitage for battle when I received a raven telling me to abandon it and reinforce my cousins. It would be stranger if I was there when the Wildfire started." Gerold pointed out.

"That's another thing! Wildfire of all things? Why in the seven hells would Lord Dayne think to use that?" Drink countered.

"How would I know the mind of my cousin? All I can say is that whatever plan he had, it failed. Now the house has been so reduced as to render us practically dead." Gerold said, irritation obvious. Most worryingly, they both went to place their hands near their blades.

Feeling nothing good would come, Quentyn decided to intervene. 'What would father do?'

"That is enough!" Quentyn made himself and Arch known to the two knights. He and Arch physically stood between them.

"Drink, we know he wasn't there. Starfall burned down from WILDFIRE. Even if he did it, he would have burned up too. Gerold, I apologize for his words. We are all stressed out, and you just represent the reality that we needlessly lost many of our men. Please, let us all just walk away." Quentyn spoke to both of them.

Ser Gerold moved his hand from his blade. "You'd best be growing up. This. Is. War. We've been lucky, being too young to be a part of the last few. But now? There is a chance of death every day. Grow up. We are all knights. Start acting like it. If you continue on being the foolish boys we have been till now, then we die as those foolish boys." With those words, the formerly arrogant landed knight walked away from the conflict.

Quentyn looked at Drink. "Really? What was that all about?"

"Quentyn, let's go talk somewhere the guards won't complain we're distracting them." Arch said, wanting to get to dinner.

"Don't worry, I'll be quick. Drink, what in the Seven Hells possessed you to accuse him of such an outrageous crime?"

Drink scoffed. "Come on, It's Darkstar. Since when does anyone take him for his word? Remember how many ladies have spoken against his claims of laying with him? Why is he suddenly so truthful?"

Quentyn looked his friend in the eye. "How would he lie about Starfall. As I said, if he was there, he would have died."

Drink looked at him, a bit more uneasy. "I wasn't just accusing him for no reason. I wanted him to pull that sword of his out."

Quentyn grew confused. "You wanted to be cut to pieces?"

"Really. The guards will be here any minute." Arch voiced.

"No. But I am pretty sure that sword was Dawn."

Quentyn started to get annoyed. "Drink, have you ever actually seen Dawn? I have. It WAS on a mantle in Starfall, but it was not Gerold's. Even if he was able to wield it, Dawn glows when unsheathed, and it is longer than the short sword he wore on his belt."

"Seriously, where are the guards? A patrol should have come by now." Arch voiced, checking the perimeter for guards.

"Now then, when you next see Ser Gerold, you will apologize for making you both fools." Quentyn said, trying to copy his father's ruling style, but scaled down for the level of the argument.

"ROPE" Arch yelled, grabbing the other two knight's attention. Their eyes followed Arch and saw a rope hanging off the outer wall. Before they could react, all three were enveloped in metal bars.

"I recognize this. It is Nightmare Steel Cage." Drink surmised for the others.

But those would also be his last words, as two Ape Fighters materialized next to him, and tore his limbs off. A sword entered his heart, putting him out of his misery.

Arch and Quentyn turned to see who had just stabbed their friend. And they were shocked it was Darkstar.

"You know, he had no proof, but he was largely right. If I did not fear he would cause me to lash out, I would have waited. Oh well, it makes no matter." Darkstar said as he pulled out two cards.

The first card had hands come out of it. They reached for Arch's head and soon Arch was unable to help Quentyn.

"Brain Control. Very useful." Darkstar snapped his fingers and Arch walked out of the cage like it was not there.

Then, Quentyn watched as Darkstar walked up to him, and cut his cheek with his sword.

Q: 3950

"A Parting gift to remember me by, My Prince." Darkstar then raised his left arm, and Quentyn watched as Arch swung his blade and cut it clean off.

Darkstar remained standing, as if his arm had not just been removed. Instead, he raised the other card in his hand. By Quentyn's feet, a corpse appeared. It wore a tunic with a black ship in front of a setting sun.

"Creature Swap." He heard Darkstar's voice say before the world began to spin.

The next thing Quentyn knew, he was in the middle of the desert, and in front of him, weapons drawn, were dozens of Ironborn.

"Prince Quentyn!" The captain spoke with a grin. "Thank you for agreeing to help bring this war to a close. We lost a good man, but this way I don't have to explain to Darlton why his wife is pregnant when he was at sea."

Within moments, Quentyn was bound, and soon after, the sea was visible. By sunrise, he was thrown in the bottom decks of a ship.

The entire time, Quentyn's cut cheek refused to close or stop bleeding.

Q: 3500

AN: Wow this chapter was longer than I thought.

In other news, like many authors on here I read, I experienced a computer crash while writing this. Thankfully I use Google Drive, so I did not lose anything when my Hard Drive failed.

So, here we see Robert and Doran's reactions to Starfall, as well as the taking of Vulture's Roost. Pod is now in the story, and just like the Blackwater, plays an important role despite just being a squire. We also have Darkstar reach Yronwood, and the Ironborn manage to capture Quentyn.

In other news, while writing the outlines to future stories, I also added Chaotic to the list of possibilities. How I would introduce that into Westeros, I have yet to figure out, as I do not want to just repeat this and Power Shift's explanation of it just appearing. Fate makes sense to do that with, as it has several dimension hopping characters. As for my Pokémon Story, I have a bit of an outline, and am debating between having Pokemon always be around, or having Valyria's doom turn animals into Pokémon, thus giving 4 centuries for the idea of gyms to develop. Personally leaning to the later, as then I can have non-pokémon animals that I can use for meat avoid having to write that people eat Pokémon. Chaotic, right now has like a 10% chance of actually being written.

Also thanks to Everyone who comments. Glad I can give you people something to do in these trying times. It's things like that which give me joy as an amateur writer.

With all that said, I will see you all in the next chapter. Feel free to comment.


	20. Chapter 19: Unexpected Aid

AN: Alright, let's get right in.

LEYTON

REACH-HIGHTOWER-LORD'S SOLAR

Lord Leyton Hightower was going through the daily motions of being Lord of a city. It was much busier than just being Lord of a keep. He had just finished signing a command ordering the deployment of troops to head to Dorne, when his son burst into the room.

"Father! An Ironborn ship is approaching!"

Color drained from Leyton's face. 'Balon, that madman.'

"Send the fleet out to meet them. We will remind the Ironborn why they failed last time."

"No Father. That is just it. They are waving a flag of parley." Baelor explained.

"And you believe them?" Leyton asked his son, looking at him as though he lost his wits.

"My Lord!" The newest Maester assistant ran up to the solar. "We received a raven from Pyke. They said that an Ironborn ship would be arriving. It will stay at sea while it's captain and a guard bring us a gift."

"Well talk about timing." Leyton muttered to himself. He supposed that however bad his actions, he needed to protect the city. "Have a dozen crossbowmen and another dozen skilled duelists head to the port. I will meet this captain myself."

Within the hour, Leyton and Baelor were watching two Ironborn row into port, with a half dozen crossbows on each of them.

One of the Ironborn stood up. He was tall and had a clean shaven jaw. "Lord Hightower I presume? My name is Gyles Farwynd. Heir to Lonely Light."

"Speak your business and make it quick." Leyton ordered the man.

Gyles smiled. "A gift. Proof of loyalty from the Ironborn, to the Iron Throne." He picked up a third passenger on the boat, one bound and having his limbs tied. Gyles removed the hood on the prisoner, to show a Dornishman.

"I believe you would be very interested in him. May I present to you, Prince Quentyn Martell."

Leyton looked shocked at the scene before him. Essentially the best hostage they could use in the war against Dorne, and he was delivered to them by the Ironborn of all people.

"Father, could that truly be him?" Baelor asked.

"He does resemble Doran from when he was younger." Leyton replied.

Turning back to the Ironborn, he asked. "How did you capture Prince Quentyn? I doubt Doran just let his son get on an Ironborn ship. For that matter, how did you go to Dorne in the first place? We would have seen movement if you had gone."

Gyles grinned again. "I would be glad to explain all these things once less ears are listening. And we have had bread and salt."

Leyton was silent for a moment, then he nodded, ordering the crossbowmen to lower their weapons. Even the Ironborn would not violate Guest Rights.

"What orders have you given your ship?" He asked as Gyles rowed up to land.

"They will wait for word for two days. If nothing, they will return to the islands, with word of my demise.

Leyton's men and the other Ironborn stood guard over Prince Quentyn, while Leyton and Baelor broke bread and salt with Gylles.

"You said you would explain?" Baelor started the conversation.

"Yes, well then, I believe I shall start with the how if it is all the same to you. My family's keep, Lonely Light is a full eight days northwest of Pyke. As such it is often forgotten about by most lords, even among the Ironborn. We were surprised when Lord Balon ordered us to head on to Dorne, first sailing west for an additional three days, then heading south. We were so far at sea, and the usual ships either focusing on Dorne, or by the coasts, that we were never spotted until we finally turned northeast after clearing the Arbor and reaching Dorne. We landed a day's ride east of the Brimstone." he explained as a servant came and filled their cups. Gyles picked up his goblet and swirled the Arbor Gold around. "From there, we met up with an...let's call him an old friend of my father. He led us to the keep the Prince was being guarded at, we snuck in, grabbed him, and hightailed it out."

"Yronwood." Leyton said. "Prince Quentyn was being warded at Yronwood. You're telling us that a band of Ironborn crossed the desert, then captured the Prince from one of the greates keeps in Dorne, and brought him back to your ship?"

Gyles laughed aloud. "It was easier than one would expect. You ever wonder how the Dornish managed to empty out so quickly whenever invaded?"

"Sparse population and camoflauge I would think." Baelor answered.

"Tunnels. They run all through Dorne. It is the closest guarded secret. Maesters who find out end up poisoned. Our friend led us to the tunnel's entrance, and we made it all the way to Yronwood. Ran into a few guards, but they were easy to deal with. Have some of our men make tracks outside, and they don't even think to look in the tunnel."

It was shit. Leyton knew that. Such a story was improbable at best. Yet he had no proof that it was wrong. And if he antagonized the Ironborn enough to cause trouble, especially when war was already being waged, Robert might just decide the Ironborn are in the right, and punish him. Besides, he was already under Guest Rights.

"Putting that aside, why bring him here? You could have brought him to Pyke."

Gyles finished his Arbor Gold before speaking. "See, that is the issue. The Prince got sick somehow. Guess the Dornish really don't belong on the water."

"So you need him treated?" Leyton surmised.

"Might as well keep him here. We will get the credit for his capture, and now I just have to report back to Balon, and the war is done. Besides, don't want to risk all of them being lost at sea if the weather is bad."

Leyton's attention was caught by that last remark. "What do you mean by 'Them'?"'

"While on our way back, we took a wrong turn and ended up in another keep. There, we overheard a lord speaking to a servant. Called her Ellaria, and said they regretted the Viper's death. So, seeing an opportunity, we waited for night, then snuck into the servant quarters and took the woman and her bastards. We will be taking them to Pyke."

After that, Gyles grabbed his guard and they returned to their ship, sailing back to the Iron Islands.

Later, Leyton would ask the Maesters to look at Quentyn. They found the boy to be barely hanging onto conscious, and his Life Points were still active from War Mode.

Q: 1500

DORAN

SUNSPEAR-PRINCE'S SOLAR

Doran was essentially in a walking sleep. He did the actions required, he spoke plans that he thought up, and he listened to his advisors. But ask him to repeat what he said, or what was said to him and his mind was empty. Why would it not be? His Son was gone.

He had been gone for half a moon, mayhaps more by now. When the raven came from Yronwood, he could hardly believe it. IRONBORN of all things. They had killed Ser Gerris Drinkwater, cut off Darkstar's arm, and abducted Quentyn while also avoiding detection through the heart of Dorne. Yet there was no mistake, it was them, as a raider wearing the sigil of House Farwynd of Lonely Lights had been killed by Ser Archibald Yronwood.

There was only one answer. One way such a thing was possible. There was a traitor. And Doran knew just who it was.

Daeron Uller.

It was the only possible answer. The Ironborn had come to raid the shores near Hellholt, but Daeron had come to claim the keep he felt should be his. Seeing an opportunity, the disgraced Dornishman had allied with them, and led them to Yronwood. That would also explain how they escaped capture. Daeron had been on the run for weeks already. A few missing scouting parties probably ran into them, and that was how they escaped detection.

Soon, another tragedy reached his ears. Ellaria and her daughters had disappeared from the Red Dunes. There was no sign of a struggle. They went to bed in a spare servants room, and when no one saw them, the keep was searched. Doran had suspected they were also taken by the Ironborn, as the seat of House Vaith was near enough to the sea that the Ironborn could sneak along the coast. Especially if they were disguised as a royal fleet ship.

Then, just earlier today, a raven arrived from King's Landing. Doran knew what it said before he even opened it.

'Prince Doran of House Martell,

As you are no doubt aware, both your son Quentyn, and your brother's paramour and bastards have been captured and taken hostage. Rest assured that they are under the throne's protection, albeit they are not in the capital. Come to King's Landing, swear fealty to the crown, and step down as Prince of Dorne. If you do so, your family will be returned to you, and we can work out other concessions once War Mode has ended. I have sent my troops ravens ordering them to hold the keeps they already control, but to cease advancements. If you do not respond within 5 days of receiving this letter, they will continue their march towards Sunspear.

Do the right thing. For both your family and your people.

Robert, of the House Baratheon, First of the Name.

'I have held out long enough, have I not brother?' Doran thought to himself. 'If he speaks true, then I can avenge Ellia, and save your girls.'

Doran tried to think through every possibility. He does nothing, and the Dornish get another five days at least to shore up their defenses, but with the blockades and loss of land, they would eventually lose a siege. He could order an attack in the five days, but that would mean ending any attempt to sue for peace from a relatively strong position. He could accept the terms of surrender, and if Robert spoke truth, then it would be the end. If he lied, then Dorne would be leaderless. What else could go wrong?

Doran noticed a servant bring him a plate of blood oranges grown in the Water Gardens. Doran picked one up, and tore the skin off. He then bit into it, only to spit it out.

'Overripe.' Doran thought to himself. Then he realized it.

'Just like me. I have been too cautious. I waited too long to strike, waiting for the perfect moment. Jon Arryn was in Dorne after the Sack. We could have taken him hostage. When Robert came to fight, we may have lost but we could have taken him with us. I have spent years waiting for the PERFECT opportunity, while ignoring great opportunities that would likely have worked.

He called in Maester Caollete. "Send a raven to the capital. Tell them I will be arriving as soon as travel can be arranged. We have lost enough."

ARYA

WINTERFELL- ARYA'S ROOM

It was strange with Winterfell so empty.

Of course it was not really. Septa Mordane was still there to scold her and praise Sansa, Jeyne and Beth, who laughed at her failures. The cooks were still in the kitchens. Ser Rodrick was still instructing the boys everyday.

Even so, half of the guards had left with father, Jory included.

And with Jon gone to Greywater Watch, she was stuck duelling just Robb, Theon and Bran.

She wished she could be in Dorne. They had heard reports about War Mode. Arya wanted to see it for herself. She could kill monsters herself, or have her monsters fight people. If it was always active, then she would be able to show Mother that she did not need a husband to take care of her.

Speaking of Mother, she had been different. Not really noticeable, but if Arya had to describe it, it was like when a persistent annoyance was finally dealt with. Like when Sansa did her hair when she was younger and she hated how tight it felt.

Of course what Mother's annoyance was was obvious. Jon. He had left about two weeks after Father had departed, it was a simple thing, escorting the men back to The Neck, but they had to inform Lord Howland about it and wait for his reply. To do so, they sent a raven to one of his banners, and that banner sent a rider to Greywater Watch, so it took a while to get everything ready. That was when her changes had started.

Even so, something that had not changed, was Arya's inability to win a duel.

R: 2450 A: 1050

"My move." Robb said as he drew.

"First I play Block Defense, forcing your Sonic Chick into Attack Mode." He turned Sonic Chick the correct way. "Next, I will sacrifice my Frostosaurus, remove your Mask of The Accursed from it, and summon my Sword Arm of Dragon. It attacks, and with my Royal Decree still active, you can not activate your trap cards, assuming they were more than just a bluff."

R: VICTORY A: DEFEAT

"And that is that." Robb said with a grin.

Arya was getting sick of this losing streak. It made sense; her deck was made out of the discarded cards of the others, of course it would be weaker than theirs. The only one who gave her good cards was Jon, and she realized that he likely let her win whenever she beat him. Bran, Theon and Robb never gave her a break, and she was not sure if she preferred to lose on her own, or get a win even if it should not have happened.

She was glad for the chance to duel Robb. With father gone, he had to become the lord in some aspects, but others Mother and Maester Luwin took care of so Robb would not have too much responsibility before he was ready for it.

"If I had my own deck, I would have won." Arya said annoyed.

"And if you did not put a bucket of horse dung above Sansa's door, you would have your deck by now." Robb retorted.

"She deserved that." Arya said and would say no more.

"Mayhaps." Robb said before getting a thoughtful look on his face. "You know, Mother does not actually look through your deck when she takes it away, does she?"

"No. She just takes it." Arya replied, wondering what he was thinking.

"Next time you get it back and get in trouble, give her your spare deck instead. She won't know the difference."

Arya suddenly got a big grin on her face at the thought of that. She could finally start winning on her own.

With that done, the conversation turned to other things, specifically, Jon and Father.

"A raven from Castle Cerwyn said Jon departed there a few days ago, so if he sticks to the Kingsroad he should be there and back before we know it." Robb told her.

"Why did he have to go anyway? They are guards, they could have gotten back themselves." Arya retorted.

"Lord Howland is one of Father's closest friends. Some things require more gratitude than others." Robb tried to explain.

"And Father?" Arya asked.

"He is still in the Capital. But with the capture of Prince Quentyn and the Red Viper's children, the war should be ending soon. He may actually be back before Jon if the winds are good."

JON

BARROWLANDS-KINGSROAD

"We got the food." Ygritte said as she and Dryn came with hands filled with rabbits.

"And we got the fire." Jon announced as the sparks lit the wood. "Skin them and we can roast them."

Soon, all five of them were eating roasted rabbit.

Jon was at first surprised to learn that Ygritte and Dryn wanted to join them in heading to Greywater Watch. When asked, Ygritte had said "Never seen a swamp before. Wonder what it looks like." Dryn echoed the same sentiment.

There was of course concern for two hostages to leave Winterfell, but they figured that they would not endanger the others. Ned even remarked before leaving that Jon would be safer in a group, even a small one.

And so, Jon's solo task of escorting the Reed men had turned into a group effort.

"So, what do you think of The North?" Jon asked them.

"Y'mean the South." Ygritte said.

"The name of the kingdom is The North." Jon pointed out.

"I've been to the North. This is South of it. As for what its like...A lot less snow than I thought." Ygritte answered.

"You should have seen her on the way down here. We all thought the first stone building south of the wall was where the King was." Dryn mentioned, only to get smacked on the head.

"You should hear the Southerners who visit. They don't have any snow outside of Winter." Jon spoke.

"How d'you know? You been down there for yourself?" Dryn asked.

"Not since I was a babe. I was born in the south, but that is all I know." Jon explained.

Soon they were finished eating, and were about to put out the fire when Dryn noticed something in the distance on the road. "Riders." he announced to the others.

A group of ten riders, one of them a woman in riding leathers dyed black, approached them. Once they got closer, Jon recognized the quartered sigil of Houses Dustin and Ryswell.

When they were noticed, the men rode right up to them. "You! what are you Crannogmen doing on Dustin Land?" he pointed to Deryck, the elder of the Reed men.

"Returning to our Lord Howland Reed of Greywater Watch." He answered.

"Really? Your companions do not look like they live in a swamp." The lady among them remarked. Her hair was equal parts brown and grey, and she had wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.

Jon figured that as it was his task to see the Reed men returned, he had to step up. "You'd be right. I am Jon Snow, Lord Eddard tasked me and the others to see these men return safely.

The woman stared at him, as though seeing a ghost, before an iron mask descended on her face.

"Truly? And how do we know this? A bastard's loyalty is less secure than a chair that's been plagued by termites. For all we know, you started your own bandit group. You have already stolen from me." She gestured to the rabbit skins still visible.

"We have done no such thing." Jon spoke out. "King Viserys, first of his name, declared all animals within a mile of the Kingsroad to be under no lord."

"Mayhaps," The lady now identified as Barbery Dustin conceded. "Still, you have not answered the other possibility. Am I supposed to just let bandits harry my people?"

"We are not bandits. We are just on our way down the Kingsroad, same as you." Jon replied. This was getting bad. He had heard from Father that Barbery was not a friend, but he did not expect such hostility.

"More riders from the north." Dryn announced. Everyone looked and barely made out a group of five or so riders. The banner however was clear, even from a distance.

"Bolton" Both Jon and Barbery muttered at once.

Soon, Roose Bolton, lord of the dreadfort, arrived to see the gathering.

"Lady Dustin, I was expecting to run into you earlier. I wondered what kept you busy, and now I see. Pray tell, what is going on here?" Roose announced in a quiet voice.

Lady Dustin put her iron mask back on and answered the leech lord. "Apparently, Lord Stark decided to get some use of his bastard after all these years. He's escorting Reed men back to the Neck."

"I see." Roose rode up, so he and his horse were right in front of Jon. "So, you are the Bastard of Winterfell. I see your mother left nothing of herself in you. You look just like your father and uncle. I look forward to seeing you and your family again." Roose turned back to Lady Dustin. "Well then, shall we be on our way? You said you knew a girl that would make a good match for Domeric."

"Of course My Lord. Let us go." Barbery and her men turned their horses around, and they accompanied the Boltons back into the Barrowlands.

Jon sighed in relief, but also wondered why Ygritte had not said anything. He turned and noticed Dryn behind her, holding a knife to her back, likely to keep her quiet.

"You know that doesn't work anymore with the cards?" he pointed out.

"It was more of a reminder." Dryn explained.

"Who was that?" Ygritte asked.

"That was Lady Barbery Dustin. She holds the lands to the west of the Kingsroad. She also hates House Stark for some reason, but father never told me."

"I thought Lords held the land, not their wives." Ygritte pointed out. "Your sister complains about it enough."

"She is a special case. Technically, House Dustin is dead. Her husband died fighting the Targaryens during the Rebellion, as did his uncle and great uncle. With no blood related members of the house, there is no one to carry on the line. My father was actually asking about who the heir was a few years ago, but I am unsure who gets the land once she dies." Jon explained.

"And the man with the pale skin and a voice that just feels wrong to hear?" Dryn asked.

"Lord Roose Bolton. Lord of the Dreadfort. His wife was Lady Dustin's sister. I guess they remained in touch, they were talking about wedding his son to someone."

"I've heard of the Bolton's." Ygritte said, her arm instinctively going to her bow and pointing it at the Kingsroad where they were just barely in view.

"Rumors, I am sure. They haven't flayed since bending the knee." Jon assured her.

"You know nothing Jon Snow. Men do not change as easily as their words." She said.

"In any case, I say give them a day to get ahead, then we can continue on." Jon decided, and no one objected.

LEYTON

HIGHTOWER-LORD'S SOLAR

"You are certain?" Leyton asked, saddened by what the Archmaester in front of him said.

"I am afraid so. It is some illness we have no answer for. Ever since he got here, the Dornish boy has been growing weaker and paler. He never fully regained consciousness. And since we are not in Dorne, we can not use this 'War Mode' to save him, if that was even an option."

"What if we rushed him to the Dornish Border? Then we could heal him." Leyton suggested.

"It would do no good. The boy's Life points are less than 500. He would never survive such a trip, by land or ship. I am afraid, Prince Quentyn is as good as dead."

AN:

As you can guess, Gyles is lying. Specifically, everything after he picks up Arbor Gold is a lie. He does have Ellaria, but that is not how they were captured. Basically, Darkstar had other like minded Dornishmen help, but they used actual monsters for the switch, and then killed them, leaving no trace unlike the Ironborn corpse he used.

Doran is a wreck, and decides that he has done everything he can. In the past, he was always patient, waiting for the right moment, now he is making a choice.

Arya gives us a rundown on Winterfell, and Robb suggests a solution to Arya's losing streak.

Jon and Ygritte are heading to Greywater Watch, and they run into some trouble along the way. Ironically, Roose ends up saving them, as Lady Dustin knows that Roose could hold her actions against her to blackmail her.

Finally, despite being the key to peace, Quentyn is not long for this world.

Also, I am thinking of stopping using italics for the first time a card is used. As I start having the same people make multiple appearances, it will just take longer to check if the card is new or not.

Hope you are all well. Feel free to comment, and see you all next chapter.


	21. Chapter 20: The Fragility of Peace

AN: As always, we jump right into it.

TRYSTANE

SUNSPEAR

Trystane sat in the sun chair. With his siblings gone, and his father on his way to surrender, he had been made Prince of Dorne for now. In truth, Maester Caollete and Myles made most of the long term decisions, while he just announced them.

Even so, he knew that his family would never be the same. Uncle Oberyn was gone, and Ellaria had brought her daughters away. Arianne had left, apparently to seek protection with mother according to father, and Quentyn had been taken by the Ironborn, if the servants who thought he could not hear their whispers were to be believed.

He was also apprised of how the war was going, though he did not understand it all. Everything west of Hellholt had a lion statue over it on the map in father's solar. Meanwhile some criminals had escaped justice and managed to sack the Tor, and were rumored to be heading to Godsgrace. Lord Tolalnd decided to head there himself to execute the criminals and finish them off, leaving his heir and two thirds of their forces at Ghost Hill. The royal fleet, while not attacking, also was not preventing pirates from attacking. One known as Sallador Saan apparently set fire to Salt Shore, only retreating when Lord Vaith brought his forces to aid House Gargalen.

Trystane turned and looked at Areo Hotah, standing guard behind him as always. There was some talk about him going to the capital with Father, but they decided that it was better to keep him here so he could fight himself if War Mode did not work in the capital.

Suddenly, while Trystane was trying to arbitrate a man who was caught trying to steal from the siege supplies, Myles ran in and whispered in Caollete's ear.

Seeing something was wrong, Trystane spoke up. "Enough, guards bring this man back to the cells, I will decide later." Once the guards dragged the man away, he turned to the two Maesters. "What is wrong?" he asked.

"A raven from Ghost Hill. They say that a force of pirates has departed from Sand Hill." Myles explained.

"Pirates? Are we sure it is not the royal fleet?"

"That is highly unlikely My Prince." Myles said. "The Capital is aware that Prince Doran is on his way, and there has been no movement from the royal forces actually in Dorne. There is no reason to attack. But Pirates only care about wealth. Sand Hill also has a reputation for attracting Pirates. If they worked slowly, there is no doubt that they could amass a small force to strike at a more defended target. Worry not, Ghost Hill is not so easily taken. It will take more than a few pirate ships looking for an easy win to take the keep."

Trystane was less sure. 'That is what we all thought of Skyreach and Blackmont as well.' He thought to himself.

?-?

?

A young kraken dreams of a Raven soaked in blood. The Raven gives the young Kraken advice, and using it, the Kraken is able to grow stronger and faster than its siblings. Eventually, the other Krakens fear the young one, and when he forces himself on his brother's mate, the others band together and drive him away He goes North, and in the frigid water, he comes across a dead thing that takes his eye, and meets the Bloody Raven from his dreams. The Raven gives him more lessons, and the Kraken grows even stronger. When the Kraken has learned everything it can, it takes the Raven's eye for himself, leaving the Raven for dead. It then goes on to do what Krakens do, but in waters that had never had to deal with krakens before. However, the Raven survives, and having lost an eye for the second time, begins appearing in the dreams of a wolf pup. All while searching for the Kraken once again.

ROBERT

DOCKS OF KING'S LANDING

Robert stood on the docks, watching a ship bearing the sigil of House Martell, escorted by the Seaswift and Boldwind, two ships of the royal fleet. Robert had thought of sending Robert's Warhammer, and the Lady Lyanna, but was informed that such ships may not be the best message to send to Dorne.

It mattered not, within the day, the war should be finally ending. They were lucky that Doran had arrived within the hour of the sun's rise.

Beside him, was Davos, Ned, Stannis, Renly, Jon, and Sers Barristan and Balon Swann. It had taken some coaxing, but Robert had managed to talk all the Lannisters out of appearing. Otherwise it would just bring hostilities to the forefront. There were some Lannister guards around, but they were all wearing borrowed armor to hide that fact.

Soon the Fornish ship was docked, and out walked Prince Doran.

Robert had never actually met the man before, except perhaps for a moment or two when his father brought him to court. "Is that him?" He asked of Jon.

"It looks like him, but to think he can walk so easily. He was stuck sitting even back during the Rebellion." His hand replied.

As Doran walked down the gangplank and onto the dock, Robert approached him. Prince and King looked at each other, and Robert could feel both hatred and pain in Doran's expression.

"Price Doran. It is good to see you, though I admit to wishing it were under better circumstances." He opened the conversation.

"The same, Your Grace." Doran answered back. He looked around, almost as if he was wishing to see someone in particular. "My family?"

Ah, yes. "Safe. After we heard Lord Greyjoy had lady Ellaria, I ordered her and her daughters to be moved to the Shield Islands. No harm will come to them. As for your son, he is ill, but Lord Hightower said the whole knowledge of the citadel is being used to aid him as his body rests. But there are plenty of other families that want to be reunited as well."

Doran nodded. "Well then, lead the way."

As Robert and Doran walked towards the Red Keep, the others began to disperse. Ned would be with Jon handling the ruling of the keep, the Lannisters were in their rooms, Renly and Stannis would be with Pycelle organizing the withdrawal orders, Baelish and Varys were off doing who knows what, but Robert doubted it would affect the talks.

?

?-?

There were thirteen suns, Though eight were orange while the other five were red. The sun that had created the orange suns slithered up to a mountain of gold, and tried to burn a lion, only to be destroyed by a piercing white light, all alone. As the Lion and Stag began their fight with the suns, the Sparrow flew out of sight, laying more eggs than before. The largest sun, though dimmer than the others, scattered the Orange suns. One orange sun stayed out of sight of all, another went searching for the sparrow, and was welcomed into the fold, but only by letting the light of others shine through it. The four smallest orange suns were kept together, but sent away, only to be washed out to sea by waves. The other two orange suns accompanied the second oldest of yellow suns, and went to search for a dragon. The middle of the yellow suns was locked behind a gate of Yron, only to be burnt away by purple flames until nothing final, youngest sun was left with the dim elder, and was eventually abandoned and on its own when the Lion and Stag finally came for vengeance, stirred on by another purple flame.

DORAN

RED KEEP- SMALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS

Doran sat in a chair, his guards by his side. Opposite of him was King Robert, and Sers Barristan and Swann.

"Well then, what do you demand for terms?" Doran asked, not wanting to wallow in silence.

Robert unfurled a map. "In terms of land, the Marshes that fell under Dornish rule will be given to the Marcher Lords. Vulture's Roost shall be given to a soldier who served with distinction, who specifically will be decided later, and everything North of the Boneway shall fall under House Dondarrion."

Doran nodded. "Ser Beric has been a merciful enemy. The Wyl's may complain, but I can accept that for now. I take it the Reach shall be taking land as well? Around the Torrentine"

Robert paused for a second, looking at the map. "House Tyrell largely was inactive during this conflict, but House Tarly did capture Blackmont. But I have something else in mind for Lord Randyll. Instead, Dorne shall keep the lands, but young Edric shall wed a Reach woman, and whoever it is, their family shall pay the costs of repairing Starfall if it is salvageable, and building a new keep if not."

Doran nodded. "And until then Ser Gerold shall surrender High Hermitage to his cousin as a temporary keep."

"Aye, no price shall be paid for the Daynes. They have too much already, and Ser Arthur bought his family enough respect to last until Edric's grandson's time."

They continued on like that for a while. In addition to losing land or titles, Dorne would have to pay several Thousand Gold Dragons to the crown. They had the money, but would be unable to raise any significant force for years.

Eventually, they got to the topic Doran was most concerned with. 'And my family's punishment?"

Robert sighed. "As said in the letter, you shall retire as Prince of Dorne. It's not unheard of. Plenty of old men let their sons do the day to day ruling. I heard you spend more time at some family garden than in Sunspear. You can live there for the rest of your days if you want. I know the original letter stated that your brother's bastards would take the vows of a Silent Sister, but such will not be necessary. If they submit to the Iron throne, they shall be left alone. I will even legitimize them when they do so. But should they take up arms against any lord under me before then, they will pay the price."

Doran nodded. It was a steep price, but if it meant they would live, he could pay it. "And my children?"

"Princess Arriane remains unwed. Varys says even she resents this fact. So I shall find a suitable husband for her. I actually already have an idea though I doubt-"

"That will not be possible." Doran cut the king off. "Arriane has fled from Dorne, seeking refuge with her mother in Norvos. I doubt she will agree to wed any man you suggest.

Robert seemed to swear under his breath. "In that case, I will have to ask that you pay more in reparations. Either that, or Trystane shall also have his bride chosen for him. Arriane will also be given a year to return, else I will strip her of her inheritance, and name Quentyn your Heir."

"I will pay more. Though I doubt my daughter will return." 'Once Viserys takes the throne, she will have no need of Dorne when she is Queen.'

TRYSTANE

SUNSPEAR- TRYSTANE'S ROOM

Prince Trystane was awoken from his slumber by the roar of a monster. After waking up fully, he looked out the window and saw monsters attacking the Keep the Shadow city. To the north, he saw a large force of men, and among them, were the banners of the Royal family and the Lannisters, Trystane also thought he could make out the banners of other houses as well, but those two were the most common.

'What is going on?' Trystane thought to himself. Father had gone to the capital to end the fighting, yet here it was. He then remembered what the Maesters had said a few days ago. Pirates on sand hill. Except it was not pirates. It was the royal army.

He ran out of his room, expecting to find guards. But while he did find them, he could not get them to stop running around. He may have been the Prince while his family was away, but he was still a boy nowhere near manhood. None would listen to him in matters of warfare. He was able to find where his cousin Ser Manfrey Martell was acting as castellan and commanding the guards. Areo Hotah was out on the front lines leading the guards. From what Trystane had heard, the scouts between here and Ghost Hill had been overrun, and the Royal army moved in the night, attacking just as the Dornish were waking up.

War Mode was still active, and they had set some traps and defenses beforehand, but the army had opened up with a Heavy Storm, wrecking not just the defenses, but also making a brief but fierce storm hit the Keep as well. A guard rushed in and announced the Shadow City had been overrun. An hour later the Royal army had busted through the gates and were pouring their monsters into the Keep.

Ser Manfrey realized that the battle was lost. He turned to Trystane and revealed that there was a tunnel system for just such an occasion that the Keep was overrun. He would send Trystane away with the guards, and they would hide out in Planky Town. He ordered the guards to escort him out of Sunspear. Trystane feared this may have been his last time in his home.

?

?-?

So many future events.

A dragon tested by fire, a bear between the dragon and a stag.

A puzzle that must be done.

A red flame corrupted and turned purple. The purple flames burning a sword. Animals fleeing the purple flames, but some are not fast enough.

A fat archer and a dragon wearing wolfskin.

A burnt dog fighting a mountain.

Adding up the number of stars.

Putting cards on top of one another.

An-

"Jojen!" Meera shouted at her brother.

Jojen awoke with a stop. Dreams. They were his dreams.

"They are getting worse." He heard his sister say as she tried to calm him down.

"Not worse." He said. "Just more often." It was good. He needed to have at least some idea of what was in the future. "I just hope it will be enough."

ROBERT

RED KEEP-SMALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS

This was actually going surprisingly well. Doran was acquiescing to more than he thought the Prince would. Of course part of that was because they had his family members, but Robert expected some kind of push back. No matter. The faster the war was over the better.

"Now then. About the Mountain." Doran brought up. Robert should have figured the gods would change his luck mid negotiating. If Arriane was in Norvos, then Tywin may be less pleased with losing Ser Gregor. But it would have to be done. 'Just don't ask me that question.'

"It's quite simple. The Mountain uses a simple power based deck. Have someone use Gravity Bind or such and he will be helpless. I shall command him to attack Dorne once more, under the pretense of a final reminder not to cross the throne, and once he is within your borders, Reach and Stormland men will secure the border, and your own forces can finish him off at your leisure." Robert gave the plan.

And Lord Tywin agreed to give up his loyal enforcer?" Doran asked.

"Don't ask what the price was, but yes." Robert said quickly, wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible. 'And don't ask what I know you will.' Robert prayed in his mind. But again, the gods decided to deny his wishes.

"Is that a confession? You admit his crimes? The crimes you pardoned him for? Oh wait. To pardon would mean to acknowledge the crime took place. What do you call it where you do not arrest a criminal? Clemency? No, that is not right either…" Doran spoke up, his voice growing harder with each word.

Robert winced internally while his physical body stayed unmoved. 'I feared this'

Before he could answer, The sound of the door opening grabbed both men's attention. Robert turned and looked as Joffrey strode into the room, a smirk on his face.

"Joffrey? What are you doing here? These are important talks, and I left orders that we be left alone." Although the Kingsguard would likely allow him in unless ordered specifically not to, which they were not.

"I came to deliver a message from Pycelle. He said to inform you at once. We received a raven from the Hightower. The traitorous false Prince Quentyn Martell is dead. Serves him right for being part of a traitor's family." Joffrey declared.

The worst part about the declaration, was that he was looking Prince Doran in the eye the entire time. Watching the father's expression change as news of his son's demise set in.

It was silent.

As one, both Robert and Doran stood up. They were on opposite sides of the table, but were both equidistant from Joffrey.

They both ran at him.

Robert had yet to fully regain the body of his youth, and began to accept that he likely would never fully. But he had been training a lot more recently, even going for just small jogs around the perimeter of Maegor's Holdfast with Tommen. Doran on the other hand was in better condition overall, but years in a chair did not do much to give him experience running.

Robert managed to grab Joffrey by his hair, pull his son towards him, and pick the boy up and throw him back to the door. Doran- with Joffrey out of reach- slammed into the King, and both their Duel Disks appeared.

"It doesn't have to be this way." Robert tried to defuse the situation, but he knew it would be pointless. One look at Doran was enough to see. The man did not care for consequences now. He had lost too much to care about what he still had.

"You said he would be safe. His blood is on your hands." Doran said as he drew his starting hand.

Robert sighed. He reawakened his inner warrior. "Very well then. Let this duel end the war."

Robert looked at the Life Points.

R:4000 D:8000

His brain stopped for a second. 'Oh Fuck.'

I shall go first." Doran announced. "First I play the field spell Necrovalley!"

Suddenly the floor of the Small Council chambers turned to sand, and a window broke open and let the sun into the room. Robert could feel the light of it. It was stronger than he had ever felt it before.

"Next I summon Gravekeeper's Curse." A man wearing heavy robes and a silver circlet around his head appeared on the field. He also held a hooked shaped staff. He had 800 Attack and Defense. Suddenly, the sand seemed to glow around him. His attack was raised to 1300.

"When Gravekeeper's Curse us summoned, you lose 500 Life Points." Doran announced.

The robed man threw his staff at Robert, who could do nothing but take the blow head on.

R: 3500 D:8000

"I will end my turn with a face down card. Make your move Usurper." Doran announced.

Robert drew a new card. He already took damage on the first turn and his opponent had twice the regular amount of Life Points to start with. This was not going to be easy.

AN: Apologies. This was originally going to include the full duel between Robert and Doran, but I have finals to work on, so I added in the Jojen dreams to help lengthen it. I may be late next week, but I will try to get it done by then. In other news, I did actually start an outline for a Chaotic crossover, and while doing research I found out the show is planning a return! If I do write a full story, then the chapters may be shorter, as I plan on each chapter being its own episodic plot.


	22. Chapter 21: King Vs Prince

AN: Quick question. I said a few chapters back that I was approaching a stopping point in this story so I could work on my other ideas and then start working on a more even rotation. I was just wondering, when I come back to this story, would you all prefer it be in this same story, or would you like me to mark this as complete and start from a second story? Just wondering.

And now the conclusion to the final battle of the Dornish War.

ROBERT

KING'S LANDING- SMALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS.

R: 3500 D:8000

Robert took a deep breath as he prepared himself. He was at a disadvantage right from the start. One misstep could be the difference between life and death, like any other battle. Thankfully he had been using his visits to Gendry as a way to improve his deck.

"My turn." He said as he drew. He scanned his hand and came up with a plan.

'I got to get rid of that Necrovalley, else I will have to keep dealing with his monsters having a huge boost. But until then…'

"I summon Robotic Knight, in attack mode." a man of metal appeared on Robert's side of the field. He had some ridiculous design that looked little like a knight, but Robert was not the one who named him. Despite his ridiculous appearance, he had 1600 attack points.

Next I activate the Machine Assembly Line." Robert played the spell and a conveyor belt appeared behind Robotic Knight.

"This card remains on the field, and every machine monster gains 200 attack points, bringing my knight up to 1800. Now, attack his Gravekeeper's Curse!"

Robotic Knight drew his sword and Gravekeeper's Curse crossed it with his staff, only for Robotic Knight to grab it with his other hand and behead the spellcaster.

R:3500 D: 7500

Despite the victory, Gravekeeper's Curse's corpse did not fade away like they usually do. Instead it appeared to just sink into the sand of the Necrovalley.

"I will end my turn with a facedown. Your move Doran. Or we can put this aside and finish this peacefully. It is not too late." Robert announced.

"Too late? I have always been too late. Now? I make up for it. I draw." Doran announced.

"I summon Gravekeeper's Nobleman in attack mode. Necrovalley also increases his attack to 1500."

Another robed figure came forth. This one had blue hair and gold earrings. It was clutching a tablet.

"I play two face downs and end my turn." Doran announced.

'That is a trap if I ever saw one.' Robert thought to himself as he drew. Unfortunately, he knew little about Doran's deck. Varys could only give broad ideas, but he liked to wait his opponent out and let them spell their own doom. This was no different.

'It may be better to spring the trap and then recover.' Robert mused to himself.

"Robotic Knight, attack his Nobleman!" he shouted.

Robotic Knight did so, stabbing the nobleman right through it's tablet.

R: 3500 D: 7200

Robert expected Doran to spring one of his traps, but he did no such thing. Once again the Gravekeeper monster sunk into the sand.

"Gravekeeper's Nobleman's ability activates. When he is destroyed in battle against an attacking monster, I can summon in face down defense any Gravekeeper in my deck." Doran explained as he grabbed his deck, picked one card out from near the bottom, and shuffled it again.

'I see. He had nothing that was strong enough to defeat Robotic Knight, so he sacrificed a monster that would not hurt him too badly, and if I had summoned a second monster, his may be strong enough with Necrovalley to block it.' Robert mused to himself.

"I summon Canon Soldier, put this card face down, and end my turn." He announced as the purple metal monster came forth, pointing his cannon right at the facedown card.

Robert had dealt more damage, but still had less than half of Doran's Life Points. This was going to take awhile.

"YOUR GRACE!" A voice called out. Robert looked behind him to see Ser Barristan, Ned, and Joffrey leading a group of guards into the chambers.

"Back all of you!" Robert roared. He looked back at Doran. "Your move."

Doran let out the laugh of a man without cares in the world. "I draw." He looked his hand over. "First, I flip summon my facedown- Gravekeeper's Visionary!" As the card was flipped over, the sand rose to make some sort of small throne. What sat on it was a man wearing a highly decorated outfit of metal, with a helm that resembled some sort of dog. It's already impressive 2000 Attack points rose as the sand glowed around him, raising him to 2500. Suddenly, the corpses of Curse and Nobleman floated back up out of the sand. They glowed as well, bringing Visionary to 2900 Attack.

"Explain." Robert demanded.

"That would be Visionary's ability. For each Gravekeeper in the graveyard, he gains 200 attack points. Next, I summon Gravekeeper's Priestess. And while she is on the field, all Gravekeepers including her gain another 200 attack."

The sand spun into a miniature tornado, and when it cleared a woman in a white robe with a head covering that obscured her face appeared holding a golden staff with the head of a Snake. Her attack was raised by the field and herself to 1700, while Visionary's went up to 3100.

"Now, Visionary, attack his Robot Knight!" Doran ordered.

"Not so fast Doran! I activate my face down, Covering Fire, now my Cannon Soldier comes to Robot Knight's aid, raising his attack to 3400.

Visionary began walking towards Robot Knight, only to have Cannon Soldier shoot it from behind. While Visionary was distracted, Robot Knight stabbed it from behind, causing Visionary to turn into sand.

R: 3500 D: 6900

"Impressive move, unfortunately, it can not work again." Doran spoke as the sand began to come together. It rose up and reformed Visionary.

"You see, by discarding my Gravekeeper's Vassal, I can activate Visionary's effect, keeping him on the field. And with another Gravekeeper in the Graveyard, he gets even stronger."

Visionary's attack grew to 3300.

"Now, Priestess will destroy your Cannon Soldier." Doran declared.

Gravekeeper's Priestess ran up and used her staff to turn Cannon Soldier into scrap metal. But instead of disappearing, it went on the conveyor belt of the Machine Assembly Line.

"That's the other effect of the Machine Assembly Line. When a machine is destroyed, I put two tokens on the conveyor belt.

R: 3400 D:6900

"Very well then. I end my turn." Doran said.

"My move then." Robert said as he drew. That Visionary was going to be the end of him unless he could figure out a way to defeat it. Even if he destroyed Priestess, Visionary would get the same boost from her being in the graveyard as the field.

"First I play this card face down. Next, I summon Machine King Prototype, in attack mode."

A throne of metal appeared, as a machine of grey and red sat upon it.

"Robot Knight and the Assembly Line increase his attack by 300. More than enough to get rid of your Priestess. Attack!"

Machine King prototype raised its arm, and it shot forth like an arrow and crushed Priestess' head. It's corpse was swallowed by the sand, and glowed as it kept Visionary strong.

R: 3400 D: 6700.

"That's it for me." Robert announced.

"My move then." Doran said as he drew.

"First, I summon Gravekeeper's Spiritualist." Another woman appeared on the field, this one wearing an animal mask that hid her face just like Visionary.

But she will not be on the field for long. Her special ability allows me to take her, and any monster in my hand, and fuse them together!"

Robert gasped in shock. He was not expecting a fusion.

"So, by giving up my Gravekeeper's Recruiter in my hand, I can merge the two into Gravekeeper's Supernaturalist."

A tattooed cloaked bald man appeared briefly, only to have his body melt into Spiritualists. What emerged from the fusion was a white haired man holding a staff and with much gold adorning his body. His 2000 attack was increased by Necrovalley to 2500.

"But that is not all. He gains another one hundred attacks for the levels of the monsters used to fuse him. And with two more Gravekeepers in the graveyard, Visionary's attack increases as well." Doran explained.

Supernaturalist now stood at 3200 attack, while Visionary's became 3700.

"Now then, Visionary will attack your Robot Knight." Doran announced.

"He will do no such thing. I activate Threatening Roar, preventing you from attacking this turn!" Robert revealed the card, and a terrible screech that forced everyone nearby to cover their ears halted both monsters in their tracks.

"Your move then." Doran said, anger apparent on his face.

"Aye." Robert drew. He only had two cards in his hand. He had to make them count.

He looked at the new one. The gods were finally showing him favor.

I play Pot of Greed. Now I draw another two cards." Robert did so. He looked at the three cards and began to form an idea.

'It's a two in three shot of working. No, more like a coin toss if his deck is like most.'

"I activate the spell card Hammer Shot. This destroys the monster on the field with the highest attack, which is your Visionary."

A giant wooden mallet landed on Visionary, crushing it into sand. Doran did nothing to stop it.

'Heh, so I was right. That card in his hand was not a Gravekeeper, otherwise he would have saved it and made it more powerful. At least I got rid of it.'

"Now I summon Bistro Butcher. And then I play Swords of Revealing Lights. Now you can't attack for three turns. That is all for me." Robert declared.

As the swords blocked off Supernaturalist, Doran began his turn.

"This is bad." Ned said. "Now Robert has to rely solely on what cards he can manage to draw."

"At least he has his monsters to take the hits for him. And he still has that one facedown." Ser Barristan replied.

"I summon a second Gravekeeper's Curse. And end my turn with his affect." Doran said as he played the monster.

Curse threw his staff right at Robert, hitting him square in the shoulder.

R: 2900 D: 6700

"That's bad." Ned said.

"Bad? Father can destroy that monster easily." Joffrey spoke up.

"Aye. But Doran can spare the Life Points of losing him, unlike His Grace." Ser Barristan explained to the prince.

"My move." Robert said as he drew. He looked at the card. 'I need more time.'

"I attack your Curse with Bistro Butcher!" He declared.

Bistro Butcher ran forward and sliced Curse to pieces from beyond the swords.

R:2900 D: 6200

"Now, since Bistro dealt you damage, you draw two cards. That will be it for now." Robert said. Doran did so.

"My move." Doran said as he drew a fourth card into his hand.

"Now then, I summon a second Gravekeeper's Priestess, which brings my Supernaturalist to 3400. But that is not all! I activate my trap card, Rite of Spirit. This lets me bring back one Gravekeeper's monster in my graveyard. I choose Visionary." The monster rose back up from the sand. And with another Curse in the graveyard, he now boasted 3900 attack points.

"That will be it for now." Doran spoke.

Robert sighed as he drew. This was the hardest duel he had since Trant.

"I play Cup of Ace. Now we flip a coin. Heads, I draw two cards. Tails, you do."

A giant gold dragon appeared in between the two, and it threw itself in the air. When it landed, Robert's face was clearly visible.

"I will take these." Robert said as he added two cards to his hand. "I summon the Guardian of the Throne Room. And the Machine assembly Line increases his attack to 1850." The metal guard appeared on the field.

"Next, I will play this card face down. And I will attack the Priestess with Guardian." Robert announced.

Guardian's missiles shot forth and obliterated the Priestess.

R: 2900 D: 6050

"That's all from me." Robert said.

"Now Robert has three monsters on the field, and two face downs and swords will last another turn." Ned said.

Doran drew a card and grinned.

"You should not have attacked with your Butcher Robert. It made it so I could play this! Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Winds blew away the swords of light.

"Now then, Visionary will attack your Guardian. But that is not all. I activate my other trap, Magician's Circle. This lets both of us summon a spellcaster monster when one on the field declares an attack. And for mine, I choose another Visionary!"

A second Visionary appeared right next to it's twin, as the first prepared to attack.

"I do not have any spellcasters in my deck, But I activate my trap, Negate Attack. So now your battle phase is over." Robert revealed before the attack could happen.

Doran grew more impatient. "Fine then. It doesn't matter. I end my turn."

"Clever. He saved it until a turn he knew he would lose." Ned summarized Robert's strategy.

"My move then." Robert drew. But he already knew what he would do. After checking it, he made his move.

"Before you do so, I would like to activate one of my card's abilities." Doran announced. 'I doubt I need to, but just to be safe, I will discard my Charm of Shabti from my hand. By doing so, none of my Gravekeepers can be destroyed by battle." He explained.

"Well then it's a good thing I am not destroying them in battle. Now that both your traps have been tripped, I can tribute all three of my monsters, and summon Beast King Barbaros."

All three monsters faded from existence, and where they once stood now was a monster with the body of a monster, the face of a lion, but the center of a man. In its hands were a spear and shield. It boasted 3000 attack points.

"Now I activate his ability. Since I sacrificed three monsters to summon him, I destroy all cards on your side of the field!" Robert explained.

Barbaros lifted his lance, and impaled the ground, removing Necrovalley. It then did the same with both Supernaturalist and one of the visionaries. But the other evaded.

"Do not forget that I can save at least one Visionary by discarding my Gravekeeper's ambusher." He explained. "All you did was make him stronger."

It was true. Visionary lost 500 attack points from Necrovalley, but gained 600 from its ability. Bringing it up to 4000.

"Mayhaps, but it was enough. I end my turn." Robert announced.

"We will see about that." Doran said as he drew. He only had two cards in his hand right now: Imperial Tomb of Necrovalley, which he just drew, and an Owl of Luck, which he had no use for before with Necrovalley already on the field.

'Might as well set them up for later.' Doran thought to himself.

I play this card face down, and set a monster. Now, Visionary, attack his Barbaros!" Doran ordered.

Visionary launched himself forward, only to be blocked by Barbaros' shield. It was then Doran saw the trap card flip over.

"Draining Shield. It negates your attack and adds his attack points to my Life Points." Robert revealed.

R:6900 D: 6050

"YES!" Ned found himself letting out a cheer. "Robert just took the lead for the first time in this duel."

"Whoo." Robert let out a small whistle. "This what you feel for having more than 4000 life points? I understand the appeal. I feel I could swim to Bravos."

"Enjoy it while it lasts. I assure you it will be a temporary feeling." Doran grinded his teeth.

"My move then." Robert declared as he drew.

"First, I will summon my Enraged Battle Ox. But that is not all. I activate the spell card Back-Up Rider! This card will strengthen Barbaros by 1500! More than enough for Visionary. So he will attack."

Barbaros charged at Visionary. The monsters met in the middle, only for a second Barbaros to appear out of the air and catch Visionary from behind, fading with its kill.

R: 6900 D: 5550

"That is not all. Now enraged Battle Ox will attack your set monster. And his ability means you take piercing damage from beast-warriors like him."

Enraged Battle Ox ran forward and cut the face down Owl in half.

R: 6900 D:4350

"I do not activate An Owl of Luck's effect." Doran announced. He could not. If he did, he would have no way to defend himself.

"That is it for now." Robert announced.

"My move." Doran announced. He looked at the card he drew.

He laughed.

It was not a laugh of success, but of despair.

"Might as well show it. I activate the field spell card Necrovalley. I did not even need to use my Owl's ability."

The sand returned to the field.

"I end my turn. Go on and finish me." Doran announced.

"It's over." Ned said.

"Mayhaps not. He still has a facedown card. This could be a trap." Ser Barristan said.

"Then he would have used it last turn." Ned countered.

"Unless he needed Necrovalley on the field to use it." Barristan pointed out.

"Then he would have used the Owl's ability." Ned brought up.

"Very well then." Robert said as he drew.

He let out a little chuckle himself.

"I summon Gate Blocker, in attack mode."

A stone slab with an eye appeared on the field. Suddenly the sand faded once again.

"If only I had gotten it at the start of the duel. He nullifies your field spell while keeping it on the field." Robert said.

"That's weird. Why summon another monster, besides gloating?" Ned asked, confused.

"Now then, Beast King Barbaros, Attack Prince Doran directly."

The Beast King ran forward and poked Doran with the lance. It was enough to draw blood, but was not the skewering anyone besides Robert was expecting.

R:6900 D:1350

"Enraged Battle Ox, finish him off." Robert said.

The Ox ran forward and cut into Doran's flesh, but when it lost itself to its battlelust, and went in for a second swing, Gate Blocker shielded the Prince of Dorne.

R: Victory D: Defeat.

Doran collapsed to his knees.

"Even when I make a move, all I do is fail." He muttered just loud enough for Robert to hear.

Robert turned to the guards. "Bring him to a guest chamber for now. Have Pycelle look him over. If he dies, so does Pycelle."

As the men lifted the Prince, who had lost his extra Life Point boost to his health, Robert walked over to Ned, Baristan, and Joffrey.

He brushed aside his friend and guard and walked to his heir.

Joffrey had a huge grin on his face. "Father that was amazing. You showed that Trai-"

Robert lifted Joffrey up by his collar.

"This is on you. You are to blame for putting my life and your own in danger." He threw Joffrey onto the floor.

"Ser Barristan, escort the Prince to his chambers. No one is to see him except for whoever brings him his meals until I say otherwise."

Ser Barristan nodded, leading the young price to his room, not listening to the boy try to defend himself.

"Robert, Your disk." Ned said, seeing a message on it. Robert looked at it.

LEADER DEFEATED. WAR MODE DISENGAGED. VICTOR: ROYAL FORCES

"Well then, It appears I won the war." Robert jested, but his heart was barely in it. He was tired. He needed to rest.

Two days later, He sat on the Iron Throne and made official announcements.

Prince Doran would be sent back to Sunspear to aid in getting Dorne back into shape for half a year. He would then be escorted by the Royal Fleet to the Night's Watch, as punishment for trying to kill the King.

Several lords or second sons who had fought bravely were to be elevated or given keeps or knighthoods.

Finally, for his foolishness, Prince Joffrey would be banished from Westeros for three years, or until Winter came, whichever came first. He would still have a retinue of men to protect him, but he would not be welcome in the Seven Kingdoms until it was over. Should Robert die while Joffrey was exiled, then Tommen would become King.

It would be another few days before they learned of what happened at Sunspear.

TRYSTANE

SUNSPEAR-UNDERGROUND PASSAGE

Trystane stood completely still, hoping the ghoul did not notice him and cut him to pieces like it did to his guards.

The Wall Shadow had been waiting for them in the tunnel. It had torn apart one guard after another. Trystane could do nothing but watch.

Eventually, Trystane was found by a soldier with a wolf sewn onto his tunic. It was obvious the man was sweating profusely, unused to the heat of the desert. He picked Trystane up and brought him back upstairs.

When they reached his father's Solar, Trystane noticed a man sitting where the Prince or Princess of Dorne was meant to sit. Trystane recognized the man. Daemon Uller. The most despised Dornishman alive. Who had escaped Ghaston Grey during the war.

"What you got there Cassel?" The disgraced Uller asked, getting up.

"I believe he is the little lord of this place." the man who brought him up said.

"You are correct." A third voice said from the side.

Trystane turned to see a large man with blonde hair.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Kill the babe and-"

"We are doing no such thing." Cassel spoke up.

"Listen here runt. I don't know how you handle war in WinterHell but-"

"Enough." The blonde man spoke up. "We shall send a raven to the capital and await their orders. Until then the boy is not to be harmed."

"Hey now, I didn't tell you how to attack the Keep for nothing. I want what I am owed."

"The only reason you still breathe is because Doran wanted you to suffer. Remember, Jory and I were put in charge of the forces here while Lord Estermont secures Ghost Hill. You were just a man who had more use alive than dead." The Blonde man said as a threat. Eventually Daemon relented, leaving with a dark look in his eyes.

"Thank you for the help Ser Kevan." Jory said. Trystane recognized the name. Kevan Lannister, younger brother of Tywin. And now in command of Sunspear.

"It was nothing. Keeping the boy alive is better than the alternative. Find the Maester and send a raven to the capital saying the surprise attack was a success." Kevan said.

And it was not a moment too soon. Seconds later, an announcement appeared on all of their Duel Disks, and what monsters remained summoned faded.

ROBERT

KING'S LANDING-SMALL COUNCIL CHAMBER

The room had been repaired from all the damages from Doran and Robert's duel. Now sitting at the table was the entire council, along with Ned and Tywin and several other significant lords.

Robert stood at the center, not taking a seat. He held up a scroll.

"A raven from Sunspear. Ser Kevan wrote to tell us the attack on Sunspear was a success, and that Trystane Martell had been captured. Funny. I do not remember ordering or approving of an attack on Sunspear."

He slammed the note down. "Who is responsible for this?!" He asked.

No one took any credit or blame. Eventually, Stannis spoke up. "Pycelle, do you have any knowledge about this message? Whoever sent it would have had to use you."

Pycelle looked up. "No one has sent any raven to the fleet. We were sending them to Greenstone and House Estermont. And the Raven for House Estermont has remained here since before Doran began his trip here."

"So then, whoever sent that message did so from Greenstone." Baelish summarized.

"What is to be done with the men then?" Ned asked. "As far as they knew, they were following a proper order."

"Aye. Kevan would not fall for a mere trick. If he attacked Ghost Hill and Sunspear, he read a message that looked like it was one of our hands." Tywin said.

"Nothing to do for now. We must await their return, and hear what they have to say for this tragedy." Robert said.

AN: And thus the Dornish war comes to a close. But questions remain.

Who ordered the Sacking of Sunspear?

How will Jory and Kevan react to learning they were manipulated?

How will Dorne recover?

What will become of Joffrey in his exile?

Where will the next threat occur?

As for the last question- the next arc is the FAITH MILITANT ARC. But first, a chapter or two of cooldown.


	23. Chapter 22: Aftermath, New Challenges

AN: So, I just remembered as I was writing this that Davos has kids.

Bit of an early release this time. I finished my paper finals, now I just have online tests and then I am done with this year of college!

TRYSTANE

KING'S LANDING- RED KEEP- THRONE ROOM

Trystane was brought from Sunspear with his captors all the way to King's Landing. He was never put in chains, but he also had no less than five men with him at all times. Even as he was escorted to the Red Keep, he had seen the crowds of Smallfolk cheering at his capture.

He was brought into the throne room, and there sat King Robert. He was fatter than the stories Trystane had been told, but he was still an imposing figure.

Robert spoke of many things that Trystane failed to understand. Something about border changes, taxes on certain things, and so forth.

"Your sister has abandoned her Kingdom. As punishment, it is no longer her future to rule it. With your brother Quentyn dead, and your father heading to the Wall after a year, you are as of this moment, the Prince of Dorne. I wish it could have been under better circumstances." Robert spoke.

Trystane felt his heart stop.

He knew Arianne was gone, but Quentyn was dead? And Father was heading to the Wall. Maester Caollete had spoken about the Wall. He called it a relic of an old superstition that served no purpose any longer if it ever did at all. Was he to be all alone?

"As for your cousins." Robert continued. Apparently oblivious to Trystane's inner turmoil. "The ones we have as prisoners shall be spared from any harm. The rest? They must bend the knee and swear fealty. If they do so, no harm will come to them. If not, then I can not guarantee their safety. And should they actually move against me or the people, I will not prevent anyone from defending themselves."

So the younger Sand Snakes were safe. At least there was that. He knew that Tyene had left, and Sarella had gone a while ago, but the others had gone with Arianne. He had no idea where any of them were.

The king kept talking for a while, but most of it went over Trystane's head. Though the crowd of knights and lords would occasionally cheer for the king.

Eventually, he was brought out of the throne room, and escorted to his father's rooms/prison.

The two embraced. The last family they each had.

Even that was only temporary.

TYWIN

KING'S LANDING-RED KEEP-LANNISTER QUARTERS

Tywin was working on some papers that had been sent from the Westerlands. While his cousins and Genna could handle most of the tasks of ruling the Westerlands, some long term decisions still had to be made or approved by him. It was a welcome distraction.

Tywin's opinions were...mixed to say the least. On the one hand, he reminded everyone of the Power of House Lannister. Oh sure, the crown was credited with the win, but most of the fighting was done with Lannister men. While not as thorough as Castamere, it was a much larger scale. Any who thought that they had too many allies to lose to the lion would be shown they were mistaken. And Dorne's grudge with the Lannisters was essentially dealt with. Tywin doubted they would be a threat again in however long he had left.

On the other hand, the boons he was expecting were not present. Princess Arianne had fled to Norvos, and Robert had stripped her of her title. So he was stuck with an unmarried Tyrion. He had also lost Ser Gregor. The Mountain was becoming more of a nuisance than a resource, but it was the principle of the loss.

He heard a knock on the door.

"Enter." He commanded as he finished signing that specific order. He looked up just in time to see Ser Boros Blount open the door, and Cersei walk in.

"Father." She said with a perfect curtsy. Even when she came to complain, she was the perfect image of a highborn lady, just as he had hoped. A pity she did not act like one.

"I doubt you came by to exchange pleasantries. What do you want." Tywin said, cutting through Cersei's pose.

Her face turning from one of polite gentleness into one filled with more rage than fear, she spoke. "What are you going to do about Robert's decision? It can not stand!"

Ah, of course. He had been expecting this. He was actually a bit surprised that it took her so long to seek him out. Of course part of that was that Joffrey's banishment had been kept specifically from her by both Pycelle and Varys, with the ladies present in the city told not to tell her. Really Cersei needed better spies if it had taken her so long to learn what was common knowledge for the rest of the city.

"What shall I do about it? Nothing. The boy is directly responsible for an attempt on his father's life. Robert is well within his rights to punish the boy, and were it me in his place, I would not be so lenient as Temporary banishment." Tywin replied.

"He is your grandson! The future King." Cersei pointed out.

"Aye. And if the stories I have heard are true, then I fear for the future where he becomes King as he is." Tywin countered.

That made Cersei take a step back. She tried to recompose herself. "He is a willful boy, but-"

"Joffrey has three years to grow up. Mayhaps being away from his royal origins will give him some perspective. If not, then Tommen shall become king." Tywin interrupted her, hoping to end the conversation.

Cersei had a blank look on her face before what Tywin said seemed to sink in. "Tommen? He's too soft to be King. Our enemies will walk all over him. Joffrey is the one strong enough to keep them in line."

It continued on like this for several minutes. Then, Tywin finally got cowed Cersei into submission. Once she left, Tywin sighed.

Suddenly, there was another knock on the door.

"Enter." Tywin commanded for the second time, wondering who it was.

"Lord Tywin. I was looking for you."

Tywin was honestly shocked at who he saw. Standing before him was Quenton Greyjoy, a distant cousin of the main Greyjoy line. He had come to King's Landing as a representative of the Iron Islands after House Farwynd managed to capture Quentyn Martell and deliver him to Oldtown.

"For what purpose?" He asked the man. It was always difficult to deal with IronBorn. Never knew when they would turn on their allies.

"As you know, Lord Balon is on his way here to be rewarded for his plan. When he gets here, there is a certain request he has for his service."

"Really? A decade ago he was trying to kill both myself and King Robert. Now he has something he wants us to do for him?" Tywin retorted.

"Oh it is a relatively simple thing. In fact, it could actually give you power over Balon. You understand I would not be saying that lightly." Quenton replied.

That piqued Tywin's curiosity.

"What exactly is this request Balon is asking for?" Tywin was asked.

Quenton told him,

EDDARD

RED KEEP-KING'S SOLAR

"So then, how much is left to do?" Ned asked his king.

Robert sighed. "More than I want to do, less than you would think. The largest thing left is how to reward the lords and men who fought. Some of whom are easier to please than others."

"Like who?" Ned asked.

"Well, Lord Beric Dondarion is to be rewarded by having his house's lands be expanded all the way to the Boneway. He tried to say he did not need it, but he was too significant to not reward. He also took on a new squire after getting in a fight with another knight about his usefulness. He also expressed a desire to just return home and mourn for his betrothed and her family. Not that I can blame him.

Then there is Randyll Tarly. He is trying to claim that since he took Blackmont and killed it's lord, he deserves it through right of conquest."

Ned racked his brain for a moment. "Blackmont does not have a lord. It is ruled by Lady Larra."

"Aye, but he thinks that her son was the lord, even though he was the second child. Completely dismissing her daughter's claim."

"Why does he even want a second keep, he forced his heir out." Ned said. He had informed Robert of Randyll's actions regarding Sam when he first got here, but Robert pointed out that they needed his men for the war.

"I know, I know. I have an idea for how to handle him later, but I need time to set it up. It's just a lot of everything right now. Sure you can not stay?" Robert asked.

Several of the lords had departed back to their own keeps and lands. Ser Davos had stepped down as Master of Ships and returned to Dragonstone yesterday. Stannis had been shifted from Master of War back to Ships as before.

Ned sighed. "Would that I could, but the North needs me. I'm sure Robb has been doing well ruling in my stead, and I doubt Car has let him make too many mistakes, but he is still a boy on the cusp of manhood."

Robert laughed. "Heh, let him enjoy it while it lasts."

"Exactly." Ned agreed.

"Well then, I should really find excuses to get you down here more often." Robert jested.

"I am yours to command Your Grace." Ned said with a grin. Robert embraced his old friend in a hug.

Mere hours later, Ned was back on the Manderly ships with the rest of the Northmen, ready to depart for home.

It was not all good however. Jory had turned sullen and silent after learning that the Sack of Sunspear was not ordered by Robert. Not only had he killed people who were just defending themselves, but fifteen Northerners had died in the Sack, among them Desmond and Alyn. Ned knew the toll of seeing your friend's corpses after a battle. Their bodies had been prepared and were on the ships to be returned to their families.

And so, Ned Stark and the Northern forces departed for White Harbor, ready to put the problems of the south behind them.

DAVOS

WATERS OF DRAGONSTONE

It was good to be heading back to Dragonstone.

Davos had felt out of place in King's Landing. He had constantly heard whispers about how he was the only one who ever bribed Stannis. Which was in no way true, but while people could understand rewarding him with a knighthood, less were understanding of him becoming Master of Ships. He had heard everything from him giving Stannis secret pirate treasure, to being Stannis' lover.

For old time's sake, he had decided to head back to Flea Bottom. Of course, he had brought guards with him. He was nostalgic, not suicidal.

He actually remembered the way, and recognized some things from his childhood. He even found the house he had grown up in. There was no door, and there were a bunch of drunks passed out inside, so not much had changed. His family had died while he was on the Cobblecat, so there were no people he really remembered well enough that he wanted to see. Most of his friends of youth would be either dead or in cells.

Even still, he could tell that he was no longer a part of Flea Bottom. The people there looked at him like he did to the hedge knights when he was a boy. Like someone who could never understand their hardships.

But now that was all behind him. Now he was heading back to Dragonstone. Once there, he could see most of his boys, and then Stannis would likely let him head back to Cape Wrath to see Marya and Stannis and Steffon. It had been far too long.

Soon, he saw the familiar jut of land that was Dragonstone from a distance. Davos grinned at a rather quick but still successful journey.

Within a few hours, the ship was heading into port, but Davos noticed a strange feeling on the back of his neck. It took him a moment, but he realized what it was.

There were no sailors or port workers in the bay. Dragonstone may not be a hub of trade like King's Landing or Lannisport, but it still had ships both of their own and from traders. There should have been at least a few dozen men out taking care of the ships, but they were all empty.

Once Davos' Black Betha was properly tied down by his own crew, they began looking around. One of the boys yelled that he found someone, and Davos saw it was the Harbor Master, Aenys Seaeyed. Davos checked the man's body. He still had a pulse, but he would not open his eyes.

"Keep looking for more people. I will head to the Castle and get the Maester." He ordered his crew.

After a minute of looking, he found the stable still had horses in it. There, the stablehand's bodies were found. Once again, they were alive, but unresponsive. Not only that, the horses appeared to be not starved, but definitely hungry. Davos had to feed one before he could mount it.

Davos rode up to the Keep. Along the way he saw more and more bodies, and while he did not check them, he assumed they were all alive.

He rode right into the Keep, and saw that the guards were all on the floor as well.

But there were scorch marks here.

Davos checked every room. In each he found more bodies. He found Maester Cressen and Ser Imry were found together in the Maester's room. Even Patchface was found face down in the kitchens.

Davos also found Dale and Shireen in the lady's room. He tried to wake them, but it was no good. He found his other sons in various places in the castle.

In the end, there were only three people he knew should be there that were not.

Lady Selyse, who should be there as Stannis' wife.

Ser Axell, who was Castellan in charge of the castle while Stannis was away.

And Melisandre.

JON

THE NECK-KINGSROAD

"And here we are. Welcome to the Neck," Jon announced to Dryn and Ygritte as they left the Kingsroad and got on a less maintained side road.

"So this is a swamp." Dryn said. "I don't think I've ever seen this much water not be frozen."

"Actually this is a bog. The swamp areas are further in. The Kingsroad goes through the least dangerous parts of the bog, but does not go to Greywater Watch." Jon explained. In truth, that was just what he had learned. He had never been to Greywater Watch himself. This is as far south as Jon has memory of going.

"Best be careful now." Derryck called out as he rode in the front. "We are about fifty miles from home, but it will be the most treacherous fifty miles of the journey. I will be in the front, and Gared will be behind you so he can see if anything happens."

It was definitely slower now than before. It was high noon when they arrived at the Neck, and by the time the sun was setting, Jon thought he could still see outside of the bog if he focused.

They set up camp, only this time finding a clearing that Gared said was a rest stop specifically for being in the Neck at night, either returning or hunting. After checking the area for Lizard-lions-they found one, and Jon heard a shriek that reminded him of Sansa, only to see it was Dryn who screamed, much to Ygritte's glee- and many other animals either poisonous or just dangerous, they set started a fire.

"Leave at sunrise, we should reach Greywater between noon and sunset." Derryck explained.

After resting for the night, the party awoke with the sun. They rode their horses until they came across a river.

"Is this the Green Fork?" Jon asked, remembering the maps of the North and Westeros.

"Aye. This is where that river all starts. From here it flows all the way south passed the Twins and Saltpans, and into the Bay of Crabs. Here, we wait." Gared spoke.

"Wait? Wait for what?" Ygritte asked.

"You'll see. We can leave the horses. Someone can take care of them until you depart." Derryck said.

And so they waited.

Having nothing better to do, Jon took out his deck and began going through it. He did not have any other cards on hand to switch out, but sometimes he just liked to look at the artwork that depicted the cards. Sometimes he even came up with new strategies that he could try in actual duels.

"What you got there Snow? Never seen that card before." Ygritte asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Hmm? I am actually not sure myself. It was one of the original cards in my deck." Jon explained.

"And you've never used it?" Ygritte asked.

"Look at it. You have any idea how hard this thing is to summon? I usually use it for when I have to discard a card from my hand for an effect." Jon explained.

Before Ygritte could respond, Derryck yelled out. "They're here!"

Jon and Ygritte looked up at the river, and saw about a dozen or so small boats approaching. Leading them was a girl with dark hair who looked to be about Jon's age.

"Greetings. I am Meera Reed, daughter of Lord Howland. We have been ordered to bring you to Greywater Watch." She explained.

After loading their supplies on the boats, the party split between them and headed off for Greywater Watch. Derryck and Gared in one boat, and Jon, Dryn and Ygritte in the one with Meera.

VISERYS

PENTOS- OUTSIDE A RANDOM BAR

Viserys felt the sun burn his eyes before he even opened them. Using his hand to shade himself, he tried to get his bearings. And remember what happened last night.

The latter half was obvious. It was the same thing that had happened almost every night since he had learned Dorne was doomed. He had gone to someplace that served drinks, drunk himself into a stupor and passed out after running out of money. For most, that would be a sign of bitterness, and it was, but to Viserys it had a practical application as well.

It quieted the voice.

When he was drunk, he could not make sense of the voice, and it faded into the background. While he was unconscious, he did not hear the voice, only the strange comforting...Viserys did not know what it was exactly. A soft roar? A purr? A growl? Whatever it was, it was better than the voice.

Even as his hangover was assaulting his mind, he could still hear the voice of his father.

Meaning, right now, he needed to head back to Illyrio's, grab more money, and then head back out again to quiet the voice down.

'Look at me. A King succumbing to drunken stupor just to run away from his faults.' Viserys thought to himself.

Which brought him back to the first task, getting his bearings.

He looked through the dyed black hair that was both his disguise and covering his face. He did not recognize any of the shops or buildings in the area, but if he walked West, he knew he would eventually reach the port. That he would recognize and be able to use to find his way back to the Manse.

Checking the sun, which was just rising, he started heading west.

It took him almost two hours, due to taking side roads and making sure he knew where he was going, but he eventually reached the harbor. By this time his head had cleared, and the voice dominated his mind.

'WEAK' 'FAILURE' 'NO TRUE SON' 'NO BETTER THAN A BASTARD' 'YOU ARE NO RHAEGAR'

All these thoughts were being yelled directly into his brain by his father's voice. No longer the kind voice he had always known. Now it was a corrupted evil version of it. Not at all like his father had been in life.

'HAVE YOU GIVEN UP ON VENGEANCE? HAVE YOU ABANDONED YOUR FAMILY?' the voice asked. That was its most common phrase.

"No." He answered in a whisper. "Never. Even if it is all in vain."

"Oi! You okay there friend?" A voice called out in the real world, putting a hand on Viserys' shoulder.

Viserys turned to look at the man.

He was obviously a Westerosi, going by his voice and appearance, probably a Reach man. He wore a cloak and was about average height.

"I'm fine." Viserys told the man and tried to walk again.

Only for another man to be standing in his way.

At this moment, Viserys realized there were no people on the street besides them.

'Shit.' he thought to himself.

"Well that's good for you, but I am afraid we need you to be less fine for us. King Robert will make us lords, so we are gonna need to take you with us." The first man said.

Viserys felt his heart stop. The Usurpers daggers. He had ran from them for so long, even he doubted they were still after him some days. But here they were.

"Not without a fight." Viserys muttered as he jumped to the side, but was boxed in by the two. All of them summoned their Duel Disks.

Before the duel started, An alert appeared on it.

2V1 DUEL INITIATED. VISERYS T. AS THE SINGULAR DUELIST YOU MAY CHOOSE.

-YOUR OPPONENTS SHARE 4000 LIFE POINTS

-YOU HAVE 8000 LIFE POINTS

"What the Fuck?!" The second assailant yelled. "I never seen this before."

'Well that is an unexpected boon.' Viserys thought.

Which to choose?

"Uh, They share 4000." Viserys spoke.

ACCEPTED. ORDER OF TURNS SHALL GO AS SUCH

VISERYS-TOMARD-VISERYS-TYCHO

TOMARD AND TYCHO SHARE FIELD SPACE.

VISERYS CAN NOT ATTACK UNTIL TYCHO HAS HAD A TURN

DUEL COMMENCING

V: 4000 T2: 4000

"Alright then. We may as well begin." Viserys said as he drew his hand. "Prepare to face the wrath of The Dragon." He said, trying to intimidate the two assailants.

"I shall go then. And I set a monster face down, and then I play one card face down as well. That is all." Viserys said as he ended his turn.

He had to be careful. On the one hand his opponents were surprised they shared a field and Life Points. On the other, they still outnumbered him and if Tomard kept a monster on the field Tycho could summon his stronger monsters quicker.

"My move then." Tomard announced as he drew.

"First, I play block defense, revealing what your monster is by forcing it into attack mode."

A giant white X appeared on the field, and forced Viserys' Golem Dragon, and forced it to change from its defense with 2000 points, to its attack with only 200.

"Now that I know what I am dealing with, I activate Foolish Burial, allowing me to send one card from my deck to the graveyard, and I choose my Laval Miller. Now, I summon Laval Blaster."

A monster made out of rocks appeared on the field. It had burning stones on its arms, and one red eye. It had 1200 attack points. More than enough to defeat Golem Dragon.

"Laval Blaster's ability activates. Since a Laval monster is already in the graveyard, I can discard the top five cards in my deck to the Graveyard as well. And for each Laval monster sent that way, he gains 200 more attack points." Tomard looked at the top five cards.

"Ha! Two of them were Laval. Laval Phlogis and Laval Cannon. That's 400 points. But Phlogis also powers up all Laval monsters on the field by 300 as well."

Blaster burned hotter, its attack rising to 1900.

"Now, attack his Golem Dragon." Tomard commanded.

Laval Blaster thrusted its arms at Golem Dragon, and let loose a torrent of flame at it. Only for a Piece of rusted metal wearing a helmet to appear and be melted in Golem's place.

"That is my trap, Scrap Iron Scarecrow. It stops one attack by getting in the way, and instead of being destroyed, it returns to the field face down." Viserys explained as the scarecrow reverted back into a face down card.

"Hn. I end my turn." Tomard grunted.

"My move again." Viserys said as he drew.

'Alright now, what can I do to-BURN THEM!' Viserys' thoughts were interrupted by the voice.

It was louder than usual. Viserys found himself clutching his head.

'THEY ARE A THREAT TO HOUSE TARGARYEN. BURN THEM TO ASH. KILL THEM AND THEN KILL THE USURPER.' He heard his father command.

'I was planning on it.' Viserys tried to reassure his father.

He looked at his hand.

"I play one card face down, then summon Armed Dragon Level 3!"

A small orange and grey dragon appeared on the field. It had only 1200 attack points.

"I will also switch Golem Dragon into Defense Mode. That will be it for now."

"My move then." Tycho spoke as he drew.

"I summon Solar Flare Dragon!"

A dragon made of fire and embers appeared on the field. It boasted 1500 attack points.

"Next, I activate the field spell card, Molten Destruction!"

Suddenly, the small hill they were dueling on seemed to explode. The molten lava that was said by some Maesters to be the cause of Valyria's downfall appeared out of it and covered the field.

Viserys winced internally as the lava collected around his feet.

"This increases all Fire monsters Attack by 500. Bringing my dragon up to 2000, and Blaster up to 2400. More than enough to take out your monsters. Now, Blaster, attac-"

"Scrap Iron Scarecrow! Cancel his attack!" Viserys cried out as he activated the card. Once again it appeared and blocked Blaster's attack.

"Ha! You think you were so clever? I wanted you to block his attack. Now that that is out of the way, Solar Dragon! I command you to attack his Armed Dragon!" Tycho announced.

Solar dragon flew forward and prepared to engulf Armed Dragon in flames, only to suddenly redirect the fire to Golem Dragon, who survived the flame attack.

"What just happened?" Tycho asked, confused.

"That would be Golem Dragon's ability. No dragon other than him can be attacked while he is on the field. That is why I cut off Blaster's attack so fast. Had you tried to attack Armed Dragon with him, Golem would have been destroyed." Viserys explained.

"I end my turn." Tycho said.

"My move then." Viserys drew.

Suddenly, Solar dragon shot forward and burned Viserys.

"Ahh!" Visery screamed.

"Ha!" Tycho laughed. "Solar Dragon's ability. At the end of my turn, you take 500 damage."

V: 3500 T2: 4000

'BURN THEM! BURN THEM TO ASH, SO THEY CAN NEVER HARM YOU AGAIN. SET THEIR VERY BLOOD ON FIRE.' The voice said in his head.

Then. Something strange happened. Armed Dragon growled, and the voice began to quiet down.

"As I was saying, my move." Viserys said again.

"Now that Armed Dragon has been face up for the standby phase, he gets to grow up! Say hello to Armed Dragon Level 5!"

Armed Dragon grew larger, his orange parts turning red, his grey turning black, and spikes growing on his body. Soon he was the size of one of the larger dragon skulls from Viserys' youth. It also now had 2400 Attack points.

"Now, I activate his ability. By discarding my Rare Metal Dragon, I can destroy one monster on the field with an attack equal or less than his. So say goodbye to Blaster!"

Armed Dragon's spikes shot forward, impaling Blaster and reducing the monster to rubble.

"Now, I summon Koumori Dragon in attack mode!"

The purple dragon swooped onto the field from the sky.

"Now then, Armed Dragon will attack your Solar Flare Dragon."

Armed dragon once again sent its spikes flying to impale its fellow dragon, reducing it to ash.

V: 3500 T2: 3600

"Now that that is out of the way, Koumori Dragon will attack you both directly."

Komouri dragon charged forward.

"Not so fast!" Tomard yelled. "My trap activates, Counter Gate. This card negates the attack, and allows me to draw a card. If it is a monster, then I can immediately summon it.

A doorway of shadow appeared and blocked Koumori Dragon's attack. Then, when Tomard drew, a monster jumped out of the doorway.

It was a red statue of a monster.

"I drew and summoned my Barrier Statue of the Inferno."

Viserys grunted. "Very well then, I end my turn with a face down. However, since my Armed Dragon managed to destroy a monster in battle, I can have him grow more!"

However, Viserys' command caused no change on the battlefield.

"Sorry, but as long as Inferno is on the field, no special summoning can happen unless it's a Fire monster. Your Dragon is Wind." Tomard said as he drew a card.

"Now then, I activate my Fissure, which will destroy your Golem Dragon."

A hole opened up under Golem Dragon, and he fell right into it.

"Next, I activate Cost down, so by discarding a card in my hand, I can sacrifice my Inferno in order to summon Dragon Seeker."

A fiend appeared on the field. It looked to be sculpted out of rocks.

"Now I activate his ability. When he is summoned, I can destroy any dragon on your field. So say farewell to your Armed Dragon!"

Dragon Seeker ran forward, and sliced Armed Dragon to pieces.

"But that is not all. I can still use him to attack as well! So farewell Koumori Dragon!"

Dragon Seeker once again ran forward, and turned Koumori Dragon into just a corpse.

V: 3000 T2: 3600

"I play a face down and end my turn.

Viserys looked at the field. He was on his own against a monster with 2000 attack points. He needed to think of a way to defeat it and quickly.

With his dragons gone, the Voice began to grow louder.

'BURN THEM. BURN THEM ALL.'

Suddenly, another voice was heard.

'That is enough out of you.'

AN: And, another chapter done.

Trystane is both too young and too scared to be paying much attention to Robert, but he is now in charge, even if Doran is heading there to finish off some repairs.

Tywin is bitter that he was unable to install a Lannister in Dorne, but the Ironborn claim to have a mutually beneficial plan. Will he listen? He also has to deal with Cersei, who has been successfully kept in the dark.

Ned is heading back to Winterfell now that the war is over, and Jory is conflicted over his own actions.

Davos heads back to Dragonstone, only to find everyone there in a coma.

Jon finally arrives at Greywater Watch with Dryn and Ygritte.

Finally, Viserys has been on a drinking binge since he heard about war with Dorne. When he is alone, he gets found by men who wish to present his corpse to Robert. He also has to deal with voices in his head. His coin is approaching its descent.

This is the first chapter of the Faith Militant arc, though it is more of a cleanup/ transitional chapter.

My outline for this fic reaches chapter 29, then I put this on the backburner and work on other stories.

Hope you are all taking care of yourselves. Feel free to comment. Have a good day.


	24. Chapter 24: Hidden Threats

AN: I am writing this during my final few days of exams. Not sure how much I can get through, but I will try to post it on the Weekend as usual.

Also I realized in the last chapter that I forgot to account for the boost Solar Dragon got from the field spell. It should be fixed now.

VISERYS

STREETS OF PENTOS

V:3000 T2:3600

Viserys looked around. The street was empty except for him and his assailants. But that voice had spoken so clearly.

Not just that, but the other voice, his father's voice, was fading. It no longer spoke words, only incoherent screams of anger.

Shaking his head, Viserys attempted to clear his mind. "My move." He said as he drew. He currently had four cards in his hand.

He did also have Scrap Iron Scare-

"Fuck." Viserys muttered. He had been so distracted by the voice, he had not remembered to activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow. He had lost Koumori Dragon for nothing.

'Nothing I can do about it now.' Viserys thought. He looked at his hand, hoping to come up with a strategy. 'This may work.'

"I play one card face down, and I also set a monster and end my turn." Viserys declared.

"My move then." Tycho drew.

"I banish Tomard's Statue of Inferno from the graveyard, This allows me to summon my Spirit of Flames." A flame burst onto the scene, from within, a man-like monster with red skin arose from the flames. Its strength increased from the lava on the field to 2500.

"But that was simply a special summon. I still have my normal summon to perform, and I choose Fire Trooper, but it won't be staying for long. It has an ability, that when it is summoned, I can destroy it to burn you for 1000 damage!"

A soldier wearing armor was on the field briefly before turning into pure flame and launching itself at Viserys' arm.

V:2000 T2: 3600

"Ha! Don't think you can rely on your Scrap Iron this turn. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!"

A strong wind and lightning appeared and blasted Scrap Iron Scarecrow, destroying it beyond repair.

"Now then, this will be the end of you!" Attack his monster Dragon Seeker, finish his life points Spirit of Flames!"

Dragon Seeker ran forward, and just like with Koumori Dragon, ripped apart the Face down Kidmodo Dragon.

As Spirit of Flames rushed forward to finish Viserys off, Tri Horn Dragon appeared from Kidmodo Dragon's corpse and blocked the attack.

"Wait!" Tycho tried to order but it was too late. Spirit of flames increased its attack points up to 2800, but Tri Horn Dragon still took a bite out of Spirit of Flames, eating everything above the waist.

V:2000 T2: 3550

"You activated Kidmodo Dragon's ability. When he is sent to the graveyard, I can summon any Dragon in my hand. And I chose Tri Horn Dragon." Viserys explained.

"...I end my turn." Tycho announced.

"My move then." Viserys said as he drew a card. His arm still burned from the Trooper's effect.

'They have no traps left, so once Dragon Seeker is out of the way I can end this quickly.'

"I would be wary of them nonetheless, unless you think you can end them right now." Tri Horn Dragon spoke to Viserys.

"I may just be able to-'

Viserys' brain stopped working for a moment.

He turned to his monster.

The monster that he just understood.

"Did I hit my head when I was being burned?" He muttered to himself.

"No boy. It's strange that I have taken this form. But that hardly matters right now." Tri Horn Dragon spoke.

'Definitely hit my head there." Viserys muttered. He shook his head again and focused on the duel.

"First I activate my face down card, Birthright. This brings back a normal monster from my graveyard, and Koumori Dragon is the only one to fit the bill.

"But he won't be on the field for long. I sacrifice him in order to summon Lustern Dragon #2!"

The emerald dragon emerged from within a ball of darkness that Koumori had turned into.

Tri Horn began laughing. "I see. So you came as well."

Luster Dragon #2 looked over at his fellow dragon. "Would that I never lay eyes on you again, regardless of the form, but it appears I have no choice in the matter. Let us hurry this along, so you can go back to burning in the seven hells." His voice was older than Tri Horn's. And while Tri Horn's voice had an authority to it that would prevent another from disagreeing, Luster Dragon's seemed inherently more gentle, but with a firmness that reminded the listener that the gentleness was a courtesy, not a sign of weakness.

Tri Horn let out a roar that may have been a guffaw.

"Enough!" Viserys said. He had no idea what his mind was doing to him, but it would end. "I activate my Equip spell, Bashing Shield, and equip it to Tri Horn, raising his attack to 3850."

A shield appeared in front of Tri Horn, and it managed to fit it on his arm. "Stranger than usual, but doable." he muttered.

"Now then, Luster Dragon destroys Dragon Seeker!" Viserys commanded.

Luster Dragon rushed forward and picked Dragon Seeker up and threw him right at the ground, shattering him into pieces.

V:2000 T2:3150

Now then, Tri Horn, Finish them off!"

"With pleasure." Tri Horn rushed forward and bashed Tycho's head in with the Bashing Shield, and took a bite out of Tomard, leaving the man with only his legs left.

V: Victory T2: Defeat

As the field faded from existence, Viserys let out a sigh.

That was the closest he had ever gotten to dying.

The Usurper's blades had found him.

Meaning they likely knew he lived with Illyrio.

Meaning they likely sent word back to Robert Baratheon.

Meaning more assassins would be coming.

"Dany" Viserys muttered in realization.

He began to run, only to scream as he moved his arm.

Viserys looked down, and saw that the burn marks had stayed.

Normally injuries occurring during a duel to the death would heal as the duel ended.

He examined his burn scar.

It was not uniform. In fact, it looked like a strange design.

It was actually three different burn marks. Two looked almost symmetrical, and the third was a circle between the two.

Looking at it from a different angle, Viserys thought it sort of resembled a dragon head, if the circle was an eye and the jagged edges were teeth.

"Impressive. A scar is proof of one's trials in life. You should wear it with pride."

Viserys looked behind him.

The voice had been the same as Tri Horn Dragon's. And behind him, floating at about head level, were Tri Horn Dragon and Luster Dragon #2, shrunken to be about the size of horses.

"Either I hit my head, or I am still drunk." Viserys said aloud.

"Neither my boy. We have no idea what is going on, but we are real, as much as I wish he were not here." Luster Dragon spoke, eying Tri Horn with hatred evident.

"Aye. We just sort of appeared here. Crone knows why we have these forms." Tri Horn spoke.

"Oh really then? In that case, who are you?" Viserys asked.

Luster Dragon spoke first. "In life, I was King for longer than my Grandfather, father, and this bastard combined. I am Jaehaerys, First of the Name. And whatever is going on, I believe I am meant to guide you."

Tri Horn spoke up. "Bastard I am not. It was I who saved House Targeryean from collapse from my brother's weakness. As you may have guessed from my nephew, I am Maegor, First of the Name."

Viserys stared at them. "Definitely had too much to drink last night."

TYENE

RIVERLANDS-OLDSTONES

"So Jenny, how's it feel to be in your namesake's home?" Ser Theo Frey asked Tyene.

Tyene smiled, "It's strange. The stories always made it seem...grander."

"Yes well, I suppose it is in a state of ruin. But it is impressive if you know the whole history. Which, I do." Theo drawled.

Tyene was growing tired. Not just of the journey, but of the lies she had to keep straight.

Doran had sent her to spy on the High Sparrow. If he could be an ally against Robert, who's debauchery was legendary. If not, and instead he turned to the so-called 'Sins' of her homeland, she was to poison him to ensure he was not a threat.

After reaching the Stony Sept, she had found herself joining a band of smallfolk led by a few knights. Ser Theo was one of them. A Frey bastard who had been legitimized just to spite his half siblings who fell further behind the succession. He had no friends among his kin, but when reminded of the god's power, he and many of his half siblings and nephews and cousins and whatever relation had come to show their devotion. All because the High Sparrow spoke to them.

He was just one of many of the people of King's Landing. He was a Septon who tried to warn people away from sins, but always seemed to be ineffective. At least until the cards appeared.

He spoke about what the cards represented. Specifically, the people who used them. He said it made sense for Riverlanders and sailors to want to use Water attribute monsters. The Reach harvested the Earth, so why should they not use earth monsters? The Vale was known for its sky, and Wind monsters could be found in almost any Valeman's deck. And septons having more Light monsters made sense when they represented the Light of the Seven.

But even so, why were there Dark monsters? If Light monsters were meant to show the holy, then Dark monsters were the opposite. The ones drawn to debauchery and Sin.

At first, he had only had a small following. Just a few smallfolk who thought what he said made sense. Then they explained it to their friends, especially those with little hope in their normal life..

Eventually, Robert found out about him. Fearing he would be silenced, he fled with most of his followers.

From there, he did what he always did. Preach. But now he had a larger audience. More people who could be found agreeing with him.

After realizing just how corrupt so many lords were, with special attention paid to the ones who were seen using Dark monsters, the believers began to realize they were meant to clean Westeros from the sins of corruption. They realized the Faith Militant must be reborn.

The High Sparrow, along with his original followers, who he had named septons and septas for their loyalty, numbered fifty. The High Sparrow took his forty nine companions and bade them all to split into smaller groups to more easily spread the Light. They split into seven groups of seven. Six groups left to gather more followers, one group stayed to protect him.

That was how it was at first. But overtime, as they grew, they gathered more and more attention.

Attention that led Tyene here.

As 'Jenny' she had been 'recruited' by a Septon who did not know how to read, but spoke so assuredly few would dare to question what he said. After that, she had been inducted into the Poor Fellows. She even had a circular scar to prove it. But while some choose to display it openly on their forehead, she and many others opted for a more concealed place. Hers was on her neck, covered by her hair, but one could feel it if they needed to.

She had participated in several 'battles' with the Sinners. Capturing a tax collector from the Reach, punishing a rapist they discovered on the Westerland border, even killing a leader of a hunting party that had stumbled upon their camp in the Riverlands.

Tyene had done the math. Her group was made up of seven Poor Fellows, including her, under Ser Theo. Ser Theo was one of seven knights of the Warrior's sons in the area, each with seven Poor Fellows under them. That meant roughly fifty six members of the Faith Militant. Tyene had heard that hers was a bit smaller than some of the others, but otherwise about the same.

Given how much she had heard about the different leaders on different levels of the chain, she estimated there were between five thousand and seven thousand Faith Militant members. Double that if it included those who were not a part of the Faith Militant, but supported them with money or supplies.

Tyene was no fool. She knew that the reason they had survived for so long was because most of the soldiers were off in Dorne, fighting her family.

Now that they were returning home, things would get difficult.

Which leads right into the current issue. They had been camping at Oldstones for two days. Soon, they would leave and get into contact with another group of Militants. They would arrive with orders directly from the High Sparrow, about what they would do now.

At this point, Tyene was numb to it. Her family had been torn away. She had nothing to lose left. Even if Robert was sincere in his announcement that all the Sand Snakes were forgiven, she knew Robert would change his mind if he knew who she was with.

All she had left was the mission. Dorne may have fallen, but Robert would be next. And it would be Divine judgement as far as she was concerned.

"I see someone." One of the other Poor Fellows reported. Pate, Tyene thought his name was. And honestly, she had a coin toss' chance of being right.

"Well then, if it is our siblings, we shall give them Seven Blessings. Same if they are just ordinary people. If they are Sinners...We show them the Seven Hells." Ser Theo spoke to everyone.

Tyene gathered her gear, preparing to move out. Soon, Dorne would be avenged.

ROBERT

KING'S LANDING

Robert sat upon the Iron Throne, ready to commence with the day's proceedings.

Victarion Greyjoy had arrived in the capital just the day before, and was meant to represent the Ironborn as Robert rewarded them for their plan to capture Quentyn. Some had spoken against it, talking about how the boy died, but that was in the care of House Hightower, and no one tried to argue the Ironborn would be better skilled at tending to the Prince.

The Herald announced Victarion, keeping it briefly to "Victarion Greyjoy, brother of LORD Balon." Emphasizing the failed king.

"Lord Victarion." Robert's voice boomed. "The Greyjoys and the Farwynds have the throne's thanks for helping to put the war to a quicker close than we thought. As such, the council believes a reward is in order."

There were very loud whispers of disapproval from the other lords in the Throne room, but Victarion, to his credit, chose to ignore them.

"Thank you, Your Grace. My brother, Lord Balon, sent me here in part to attempt to make certain changes that he deemed are important to the Iron Island's future."

Robert nodded. "Very well, speak of what your lord has to ask."

"First of all, I am unsure if you are aware of this, but Ironborn merchants who try to sell their trade in the Riverlands are forced to pay a hefty tax to do so. And if they try to hide their origins, or even work under another's ship, they are punished and must pay the tax anyway. We ask not that the tax be removed entirely, just brought down to a fairer price." Victarion outlined.

Robert vaguely remembered being informed of such a tax occurring months ago, or perhaps it was a year ago by this point. And none in the audience seemed to hold that issue against them, if the quieting murmurs were to go by. Either way, it was a reasonable request. "Very well, we shall send a raven to Rivverun to change their merchant taxes. We will also give you half a year to let your trade recover before adding any significant taxes. Anything else?"

"Yes, and this is the one that I was sent mainly to negotiate for. Balon wants his heir returned to him."

THAT, set off the audience. One lord screamed it would restart the rebellion. Another yelled that they should just kill Theon like the Ironborn killed his brother.

"SILENCE!" Robert ordered the room. Once it did quiet down, he turned to Victarion. "You understand that this is a hefty prize you are asking for. I can not do so recklessly."

Victarion nodded. "I was told you would respond that way. Which is why we are not merely asking for his return, but offering someone in his place."

That piqued most of the audience's interest.

"Oh? And who would Lord Balon be willing to part with while also securing the Mainland's safety?" Robert asked.

"His wife, the lady Alannys Harlaw." Victarion answered bluntly.

Once again the murmurs started. But that did not stop the Ironborn Captain.

"You must understand Your Grace. My brother has realized that he is getting older, and his first two heirs died in the rebellion-"

"A rebellion you started!" A knight said before Robert ordered he be escorted out of the hall."

"-And he worries that if he dies, then Theon will be unprepared for being Lord of Pyke. He must be reminded of the Ironborn, else he may be unable to keep them under him when he rules." Victarion finished.

Once more, muttering returned to the court.

Robert thought about how to handle this request. "What would you have us do with lady Alannys? Send her to Winterfell in lieu of her son?"

"Actually Your Grace, we were wondering if it was possible that she could be closer. She is more delicate than her son, and we fear such a strenuous journey north would be the death of her. We would ask that she be put under House Lannister's protection."

Again, murmurs.

Robert turned to Tywin, who had yet to leave the capital. "Lord Tywin, would you be willing to accommodate Lady Alannys?" he asked his father by law.

"Aye Your Grace. We could do so." Tywin answered bluntly.

Robert felt he had been played. Tywin would only say that if he was in on it.

The message was clear.

'If you want the Mountain, go through with it.'

"Very well then. We shall give Lord Eddard Stark a few days to head back to Winterfell, where he shall release Lord Theon and escort him home. While he is heading South, you will turn Alannys over to Lord Tywin. Are these terms agreeable?" Robert asked.

"More than enough Your Grace." Victarion answered.

ARYA

WINTERFELL

"So then, did it work?" Robb whispered to his sister as he walked her back to her room after dinner.

"Yup." Arya said, grinning.

She had managed to be on good behavior long enough to get her deck returned to her, then immediatly swapped it for the spare deck her brothers (and Theon) made for her.

"Now I can duel using my normal cards." Arya said.

"Yes well, I am afraid there is too much for me to duel you tonight. But once Father is home, we can duel as much as you like." Robb told her. Once they got to the hall of Arya's room, Robb departed to go handle any leftover duties that had accumulated.

Arya turned around and began walking the short distance to her room, but as she did so, Septa Mordane rounded the corner.

"Arya, I pray that you have been on your best behavior lately." The Septa told her.

Standing right outside her door, Arya looked at the woman charged with "making her a lady" over. She seemed to be in a cheerier mood recently. "Just fine Septa." Arya answered.

"Best to keep it that way lady. You are too young to realize this, but things are changing. It is best to accept them."

With those cryptic words, Mordane continued walking away, and Arya shrugged it off and went to her room.

AN: And there goes another chapter done! And I am officially on summer vacation!

So, Viserys sees dead people. This is how I am doing the duel spirits certain characters throughout the anime series could see. Also, sorry for anyone hoping for a longer duel, but trying to juggle a 2v1 while also not bothering to make full decks for characters I planned on killing from the start means more research on individual cards than I feel is necessary. The main point of this was to burn Viserys' arm and give him guidance. And who better to play shoulder angel and devil than one of the best and one of the worst kings in the family?

Tyene gives a rundown of Sparrow activities. She has reached a point where all she wants is vengeance for her family, no matter the cost.

Robert rewards the Iron Islands and gives them back Theon but gets his mother as a hostage in exchange.

And Arya gives another look at Winterfell.

Next chapter: Some returns of the more minor POVS we have not seen since the War started. Say hello to Mya and Edmure! Next one will probably be shorter than usual. If I can't get it to at least 3K words, expect it by Wednesday/Thursday.

Hope you all are staying safe and finding ways to enjoy yourself. Feel free to comment.

See you all next Chapter.


	25. Chapter 25: Larger Moves

AN: Longer than I thought it would end up.  
Let us begin.

RIVERRUN-WINE CELLAR  
EDMURE  
“Apologies for gathering us all on such short notice, but I fear there was no other choice.” Edmure spoke to the assembly of Riverland knights and heirs.   
Things had been pretty well in the Riverlands lately. For once there was a war not fought near them. Even the Greyjoy Rebellion had seen skirmishes in the Riverlands. But Dorne was far away. Only a few lords have left to fight, and they had only caught the tail end of the warfare. No Riverlanders of significant standing had died. In fact, word had it that some debts owed from the Throne were going to be repaid soon from money taken from Dorne. But that good news did not come by itself. No war meant no heroes. People were talking about Brave Beric Dondarrion, and Proud Podrick Payne, who saved Beric and hundreds of men from a Jinzo. Daven Lannister had been the leader for the main host. He was covered in so much glory, he could have almost any daughter in Westeros for a wife.   
EVEN THE IRONBORN WERE BEING HAILED AS HEROES.  
“Well Edmure? What reason is so dire?” His old friend Ser Patrek Mallister asked.  
As far as the men in the room had been aware, they had been gathered to partake in the large winery they currently sat in.  
“The issue...Is my father.” Edmure said.  
“Is Lord Hoster alright?” Brynden Blackwood asked. He was the youngest of them, having just achieved manhood a moon ago.  
“He is the same as he has been physically, but I fear his mind is losing itself.” Edmure tried to explain.  
“This about the Sparrows?” Ser Karyl Vance asked.  
“Aye. When they first started to appear, we thought little of them. Just an upstarted Septon talking matters he knows nothing about. I wanted to go after him, but father said that attacking a harmless Septon would be too damaging an action for House Tully. He said to just let him pass us by. But he has not left. Or at least, his presence has not. More and more people are listening to him, and for one reason or another, they are flocking to the Riverlands from the other kingdoms.”   
“No offense Edmure, but I think that Hoster knows he is dying and doesn’t want to do anything to anger the gods before he goes.” Ser Marq Piper spoke.  
“Whatever the case, we have all heard what they are said to have done. Mace Tyrell died to one of them, though his son avenged him. I heard that just a few days ago, they attacked a knight for being smitten with a bastard in the Vale. And they are believed to be behind some sort of siege of Storm’s End from before the war started. The Sparrows can not be allowed to overrun the Kingdoms. And seeing how most of them are in the Riverlands it is our responsibility.”  
“So that’s your plan then?” Have us ride out in force, without telling our fathers and lords, and solve the Sparrow problem ourselves?” Myles Mooton, named after an uncle who would die in Robert’s Rebellion asked.  
“So that is why you only invited knights and heirs. Any actual lords would be bound to listen to Hoster’s orders, but we are under no official commands regarding the Sparrows.” Ser Patrek summarized.   
“Aye.” Edmure admitted.  
“I’m in.” Brynden Blackwood said, the arrogance of youth evident in his voice.  
One by one, everyone voiced their approval, some sure of themselves. Others more cautiously.  
Once everyone was in agreement, Edmure spoke again. “Head back to your keeps, gather men you trust to be loyal. I hear that Sparrows have been sighted in Fairmarket and Oldstones. We shall all meet in Lord Harroway’s Town before heading there.”  
With that, the heirs and knights left. The next day, they began departing to gather men.   
Two days later, Edmure met up with most of them in Lord Harroway’s Town and they rode north. 

THE GATES OF THE MOON-MYA’S ROOM  
MYA   
Mya had locked herself in her room.   
She had not eaten for days.  
Her heart had been shattered repeatedly in such a short time.  
First, Lord Horton Redfort had learned of his son’s interest in her, and had taken the time out of his duties to ride to the Gates, and yell at her that she was nothing but an upjumped whore who would not be getting any Redfort wealth out of her seduction of Mychel.   
Then, apparently on his way to The Gates himself, Mychel and his friends stopped at an inn, where members of the Sparrow attacked the squire for loving the embodiment of Lust. He had survived, but lost the duel so badly he was said to be crippled. Now, Lord Horton was said to be on his way back to kill her for putting his son in such a circumstance as he would be attacked.   
There was a knock on the door. “Mya.” A voice called out. It was not Lord Nestor. But it had a similar gravitas to it.   
Mya unblocked the door, and was greeted by the sight of Lord Yohn Royce.  
It had originally been Lord Royce who was charged with taking care of her, but when Nestor had been charged with looking after The Gates, and knowing that Mya was skilled in navigating the mountains, he had let her come with them to earn money for herself.  
“My Lord.” She said. She would have curtsied, but she was still wearing her riding leathers, and was unsure if that would be an insult or not. She was not one of these highborn girls who are taught to curtsy before they are weaned.  
“Mya.” Yohn said again. He entered the room, inspecting it. It was more barebones than most who live in a castle, but compared to some of the smallfolk’s houses, it was worth more than what they could hope to make in a decade.  
“I take it...You have heard about Lord Horton?” He asked.  
Mya assumed her jump at Lord Redfort’s name was all Lord Royce needed for an answer, as he kept talking without waiting for a verbal response.  
“Rest assured, you are safe. I was going to travel to Redfort myself to disparage Horton like he did you, only then I heard about Mychel. Ravens from several locations are all on their way to Redfort and every Keep between here and there, ordering everyone to not let him come.” Yohn explained.  
Mya was confused. That was a lot of work for an unacknowledged bastard. She had figured that her father was highborn, due to the fact that she had been called Mya Stone since she could remember. She doubted the lords would put this much effort in if she was of common birth.   
“Why? Why am I looked after like this? Who’s bastard gets this much privilege?” She just asked outright. She had met commonborn bastards, and no one cared for them. They had looked enviously at her for being so rich in comparison.   
“I figured you would ask one day. Honestly it is surprising no one has outright stated it.” Yohn said. He sat down on a chair she had. “What do you know, or think you know, about your father?” He asked.  
“Well, he would have had to have been in the Vale. And he would have to be noble for me to be called Stone. When I was younger, I tried to guess who it was. I thought maybe...Ser Denys Arryn?”   
Lord Royce looked surprised. “Huh. Now that you mention it, he did have black hair himself, from his mother. But no child. He was not your father.”  
Mya wracked her brain. She had assumed that Denys was her father, and that was why she was cared for by Vale lords. The child of their former heir. Jon Arryn would have made sure his family was looked after, as distant such a connection would be. “Then who?” She asked.  
“Your Father....Is Robert Baratheon. The King.” Lord Royce announced.  
“Wh-what?” Mya asked, confused. The King was her father?  
“It was from before he took the throne. But he and Lord Arryn have been watching out for you from afar. There was talk of even bringing you to court, though as I heard it, the Queen stopped that before it could be more than an idea.” Lord Royce explained. “Lord Varys heard of Lord Redfort’s plans, and the king ordered us to put a stop to it. The king may not be able to acknowledge you formally, but he does care for you.”  
“Why? Why now?” Mya asked.  
“Honestly...You should know. Everyone is going to judge you for it, you may as well know why. And also, to give you something else to think about. Take all the time you need. I imagine it may take awhile to fully sink in.” And with that, Lord Royce exited Mya’s room.   
Leaving Mya alone with these revelations.

DRAGONSTONE  
STANNIS  
Davos and his crew had managed to move everybody they could find into the Keep.   
Half a dozen Maesters and their assistants had been brought to Dragonstone, but there were too many to give everyone enough care.  
Informing more Maesters brought the risk of others learning of Dragonstone’s fate. The crown could not risk such a panic right after a war.   
As Stannis stood in his empty Solar, he wondered why this was happening.   
The missing Melisandre was obviously the most likely suspect. A foreigner no one knew anything about. Theoretically, she was capable of anything.   
He left his solar and continued down to the room that Shireen was placed in. There, he found both Davos and Grandmaester Pycelle, who was officially in charge of the situation.  
“Any changes?” Stannis asked, already knowing what the likely answer was.   
“I-I am afraid none My Lord. They are alive I assure you, and putting honeyed water and other drinks in their mouths will keep them as such, but as for how this happened, I have no idea. None are showing any symptoms of illness. They all just...Refuse to awaken.” Pycelle tried to explain, at a loss of what actually was going on.   
Stannis nodded in acknowledgement. “Just keep them alive. That is all we can hope for. Davos, with me.”   
Stannis and Davos walked out in the hallway, which was still being filled with smallfolk brought to the castle to keep track of them.   
“Robert wants answers, same as us.” Stannis began to speak. “Varys says that a woman in red was seen at a port near Stonedance on a ship sailing southeast. Take the three fastest ships in the fleet, and see if you can catch up to them. I am sure your friend Saan would be more than happy to aid in collecting the reward on her.”   
Davos nodded along. “You are not coming with us?” he asked, obviously expecting Stannis to come himself.  
“I can not. As far as the rest of the kingdoms are concerned, a new illness has appeared on the island. It is to be avoided until such time as it ends. But such a story will not last very long. And I must return to aid Robert. You will be in charge under the direct authority of King Robert.” Stannis explained.  
“Aye Your Grace.” Davos replied, a fire in his eyes evident. He also wanted answers and revenge.   
Stannis nodded. “The ships will be here within a few days. Most of the force is on it already, but take as many additional men as you think you need. And Good Luck, Ser Davos.” 

THE TWINS  
WALDER FREY  
Walder Frey was assisted by his Maester, which one he could not remember, into his seat as Lord of the Crossing. He had outlived half a dozen Maesters assigned to The Twins. Was this one of his spawn as well? He had sent several off to the Citadel over the decades. No matter really.  
“Alright, what is there today?” Walder asked as some of his children began entering the hall.   
“Well, My Lord, First there are five criminals that need to be judged, there are farmers asking if they need to switch which crops to grow after the next harvest, there is also the fact that your son Walder, your granddaughter Walda, and your bastard Willem’s bastard Walda all have their name days tomorrow…” The Maester droned on.  
As Walder listened halfheartedly to the things he must attend to, a loud slam drew his attention to the now open door, where his son and heir Stevron Frey was now standing.  
“What is it?” Walder yelled. He hated being interrupted.  
“Father… It's Zachery and the others who left! They have been spotted heading here! They will be here by midday.” His heir said.  
‘Well then, looks like they came back to their senses, as little as they were.’ Walder thought to himself.  
Many moons ago, before this whole Dornish fiasco caused many to forget about it, that Septon now calling himself the High Sparrow or Divine Duelist or some other such nonsense had preached just far enough away that he could disappear before he could be punished for speaking against the nobility. After a few days of appearing and disappearing, he had finally left for good to go bother some other Keep. Over the next few days, several of his sons and grandsons, the ones who were third or fourth born and could never hope to be lord without getting creative with poison, began to depart. Rhaegar, Robert and Jonos said they were going for a hunt, and never returned. Symond said he was bringing his sons to Bravos to meet their maternal relatives, but for some reason left his actual Bravosi wife behind for this trip. One by one, these Freys left the Crossing, but it was a full two weeks before someone brought it to Walder’s attention. When the letters from Zachery and Luceon were discovered, talking about how right the High Sparrow was, it became clear that they had joined the fool of a Septon. Of course Zachery’s father Jared denied any knowledge of the letters.   
Now, months after running around, likely living out of the comfort they became accustomed to, it seemed they were back.  
“Well then, mistakes aside, they are still family, let them in.” Walder ordered.   
Later, at Midday, all of the Freys left in the Twins were standing in the main hall on either side, while their disgraced relatives marched through the middle, led by Symond.  
It was not all of them however. Theo Frey, a legitimized bastard, and Luceon, who had disappeared from the Most Devout soon after the Spider learned of the letters were not among them. Zachery, who was said to have just escaped capture from Oldtown when he was discovered, was though.  
“Well well well, look who has come crawling back in failure.” Walder spoke up. His loyal family laughed along with him.   
Symond closed his eyes and withstood the barrage of insults his father sent his and the other’s way. Once Walder finished, he spoke. “Father, we were mistaken, we thought we could gain honor and prestige, but there was none to be had. The High- The Sparrow and his followers are nothing but madmen. They have no regard for anything but their gods.” He said, disparaging the group that failed to live up to his expectations.   
“You are lucky you are kin. Family must look out for family, I have had to beat that into each of your skulls multiple times. Hopefully this time will stick.” Walder said.  
As Symond nodded, Walder spoke again. “You will of course, also tell us where these Sparrows and their allies are. We can end them once and for all. THAT will give us the honor and prestige you searched for.”  
Symond began to talk. “Currently, they are all splitting up. The entire reason we were able to leave was because we went with the group that headed North. We lost most of them and managed to kill some others. The High Sparrow is spreading his influence to every faithful in Westeros. His plan is to unite them with a holy war like our Andal ancestors did.”  
“Oh really? And how would he do that?” Walder asked, actually a bit curious.  
“He plans to send most of his followers south, and have them arrive at the Arbor. Lord Redwyne is in failing health, as is common knowledge. The plan was to convince the Arbor men to join and take command of the fleet and invade the Iron Islands.” Symond said.  
Silence reigned for a few moments. Another war with the Iron Islands.   
“How close is he to fulfilling this plan?” Walder asked.  
“He is somewhere near the border with the Reach. They are supposed to gather around the mountains between Pink Maiden and Stony Sept. He has perhaps a quarter of his followers there now. He hopes that the Ironborn are despised enough that the rest of Westeros does not interfere in the attack.” Symond explained.  
Walder turned to the Maester. “Send a Raven to the Capital. Go on!” He yelled at the man.  
He turned back to his son. “You did well informing us of this. I may reinstate you to your place in the succession.”   
With that, Walder Frey stood up, and left the hall, as his family began to talk amongst the ‘former’ traitors.  
HOUR OF THE BAT

There was loud yelling and roars of monsters to greet Walder Frey as he awoke.   
Before he could order a light to be lit so he could see, his door burst open, and he was grabbed by shadowy figures in the dark.   
They picked him up and brought him out of the room. Their grips were too strong for an old man to break free of.   
They threw him into the main hall.   
He looked up, and saw many people, all with circular scars on their heads.   
‘Sparrows’ Walder Frey realized.  
“Lord Walder Frey. Perhaps the greatest representation of Lust since Aegon the Fourth.” He heard a voice address him.  
He turned. The man was dressed rather simply, and was barefoot. He was starting to bald, but still had his grey hair present on his face.   
“So then, you must be the High Sparrow that has been causing so much trouble for everyone.” Walder said as he attempted to stand up, but his age caused him to fall back on his hands and knees.   
“A name that has been given to me by the faithful, though that hardly matters now. You stand accused of forsaking your marriage vows repeatedly, as your numerous acknowledged bastards are proof of. Time after time you swore to be faithful in the light of the Seven, and time after time you forsook those vows whenever you could. Now, the gods shall pass judgement.” The High Sparrow spoke and brought out his duel disk.  
Walder did the same. This would actually be his first time dueling, seeing how he had no use for it.   
W:4000 S:4000  
“I shall go first.” Walder Frey said.  
“I summon Giant Soldier of Stone.” Walder said, as the grey stone warrior appeared on the field with 1300 attack points.  
“Next I activate the spell card Toll. Now if either of us wishes to attack, we must give up 500 life points. That will be it for me.” Walder finished his turn.  
“My move then.” The High Sparrow said as he drew.   
“I summon Royal Knight in attack mode. I also equip him with Elf’s Light, raising his attack by 400, but lowering his defense by 200.”  
The white fairy came in a burst of light, it was silver metal and white armor covering its whole body, as well as wings protruding from its back. Elf’s Light made its sword glow, raising its attack to 1700  
“Now then, Royal Knight will attack your Giant Soldier of Stone.” The High Sparrow said.   
Royal knight ran forward and sliced Giant Soldier in half.   
“That is not all however, Whenever Royal Knight destroys a monster, I gain Life points equal to the monster’s attack. So while I may have had to pay 500 to do so, I regain that and another 800.” The High Sparrow explained as he ended his turn.  
W: 3600 S: 4800  
Walder Frey felt his chest tighten a bit at the damage and pain that accompanied it.  
“My move.” Walder said as he drew.   
“I play Cost Down, so by discarding a card from my hand, I can summon a higher level monster without sacrificing, and I play this card in defense mode, and end my turn.” He said.  
His face down was Millenium Shield, with 3000 Defense Points. He would like to see this High Sparrow destroy it.  
“My move.” High Sparrow said as he drew.   
“Well then. The gods have surely graced my victory. They gave me just the card I needed to assure my victory. And it is one you yourself just used. I activate Cost Down. Now I can discard this card, and sacrifice my Royal Knight and summon Majestic Mech Goryu.”   
Royal Knight faded into light, and that light changed shape until it looked like a white and golden dragon. Goryu had 2900 attack points, so Walder Frey was safe.   
“Next, I play Monster Reborn, in order to summon the monster that I just discarded. Come forth, Wingweaver!” The High Sparrow announced.  
Another light came forth, and from it descended a woman in a blue robe with six wings on her back. She had 2750 attack points. Still not enough to defeat Millenium Shield.  
“Now I activate my spell card, Shine Palace! By equipping it to Goryu, his attack goes up to 3600.” The High Sparrow played the last card in his hand.   
Now it could destroy the Millenium Shield.  
“Now Goryu, attack his face down!” The Sparrow ordered.  
Goryu let loose a blast of holy light, and destroyed the Millenium Shield in one shot. The holy light then burned Walder Frey himself.  
“Goryu deals piercing damage.” The High Septon explained as his own life points also went down because of Toll.  
W: 3000 S:4300  
“Now Wingweaver, attack this sinner directly!”  
Wingweaver’s hands glowed, and it made a bow of light and pierced Walder Frey’s stomach with it.  
W: 250 S: 3800  
“That will be it for now.” The High Sparrow said.  
Walder breathed harder than he had in years. He could feel the blood drain from his wounds.   
“My turn.” Walder said. He drew a card and saw it was Dark Hole.  
‘This will destroy his field, and I can build a better defense.’ Walder thought to himself.  
“I pla-” Walder began to speak.  
He never finished it.  
W: Error Error Error S: Victor

THE TWINS   
TYENE   
It was such a simple plan that Tyene, or “Jenny” as she was known among her fellow Sparrows, doubted it would work. But it did.  
By sending most of their Frey members, but not all for fear it would look too convenient, back home to the Twins, they had been able to order the gates opened for the mysterious merchants that came to sell their goods. By the time the “merchants” were inside, the Sparrows sprung up from the covered wagons, having been masquerading as said goods.  
They had taken most of the Freys by surprise in their sleep, or in some corner fucking a serving girl or even a cousin. The few who managed to fight some off ended up being unable to repeat the success all the time, and were eventually dealt a dead hand that ended in their own deaths.  
After Stevron and most of the Frey descendants had died, the High Sparrow himself had ordered Walder Frey to the Main Hall, where he faced him himself.   
Just as the tide of the duel became clear, and Walder Frey was a turn away from losing, his heart gave out. Not surprising really, the man was over nine decades old, and rumor had it this was his first duel. The excitement was too much for him.  
Tyene was the first one to approach his body.   
“Dead!” She announced to the High Sparrow and the other Sparrows in the hall.  
“The gods work in mysterious ways, and sometimes they work more obviously. His sins finally caught up to him, and he was found wanting!” Another Sparrow spoke up, and a cheer erupted.   
“Quiet now, quiet now.” The High Sparrow spoke, walking to the center of the room to catch everyone’s attention.   
“Today was a good day. Today, an evil man who perverted one of the most sacred vows has been sent to the gods to be punished. He was not the first, and he was not the last. Now that the Twins is ours, we can begin our first truly major action to serve the gods.”  
“And what is that?” One of the Sparrow Freys asked, having no issue with his dead father or grandfather just a few feet away.  
“To conquer a land that has never seen the light of the Seven. As you know, Symond, I had you reveal that to Walder Frey and his Maester that the Iron Islands were our target, but in actuality that was a ruse. Now that the Ravens are flying to the Capital with such information, they will be so focused on the Islands, they will not expect us to take half of Westeros into the light of the gods. In a few days, we march North!”  
There was great cheering and even a bit of muttering from the sparrows. The North had never fallen under the original Andal Invasion. Even the Iron Islands had Septons and the Seven for brief periods, but no Stark had ever ruled under anything other than those trees of theirs.   
“Once we have shown the savages the truth of the Seven, the other kingdoms will realize we are truly the gods’ will, and flock to join us in greater numbers.” The High Sparrow explained.  
And so they began preparing for the march North.  
Ned Stark was not yet in the North, and if what “Jenny” had overheard from Ser Theo, he may never see Winterfell again. 

AN: Did not think this would be as long as it is.  
So then, to recap,  
-Edmure puts together a force to take down the sparrows once and for all.  
-Mya learns of her heritage, and her love is critically injured.  
-Stannis charges Davos with hunting Melisandre.  
-Walder Frey has a heart attack in the middle of a duel and the Sparrows take the twins for an HQ in their quest to take over the North.   
Next chapter will likely be out more Sunday/Tuesday. Perhaps then I can get back to a weekend schedule. I honestly did not think I could get this to a good enough length. It ended up being longer than most.   
Next chapter will have POVs from Jon, Viserys, and Ned. Look forward to it.   
Little surprise for you guys- My third story will be posted immediately after this one. It is a GOT/CHAOTIC Crossover entitled: The Game Gets Chaotic!  
Feel free to comment your thoughts.  
Hope you all stay safe.


	26. Chapter 26: Invasion

AN: Apologies for the lateness. I had some family stuff that took precedent and cut into my writing time.   
One Guest Reviewer asked who was older between Gendry and Mya.   
According to the Wiki, Mya is about 4-5 years older.   
Also, another review asked about Victarion being the representative. My idea was that Varys knows how bad Victarion is at politics, and thus they would underestimate him and assume Balon’s wishes were genuine. Plus, it's easier for him than the Damphair.  
Alright now, here we go.

GREYWATER WATCH  
JON SNOW  
They had been at Greywater Watch for almost a fortnight.   
At first Jon thought it would be simple. Escort the guards back, stay a day or two to rest and then begin the journey back. But instead, the Reeds decided to treat him, Ygritte and Dryn to every part of their… Unique Northern culture.   
Dryn was out with Meera and some other hunters, being taught how to catch prey in a bog instead of snow. Ygritte was being shown how to control the boats of a bog, which was apparently a much different task than a boat meant for the sea or rivers. Not that Ygritte had experience with those either.  
As for Jon, he spent most of his time among the men training in either arms or dueling.  
It was strange, but not in a bad way. Even when he traveled with his father to other Keeps for business, there was always the fact that he was a bastard, and he always felt that impacted a Lord’s opinions of him. He actually broached this with Meera one night after dinner, and she said, “The Crannogmen know what it is like to be treated differently when surrounded by those who know stories, but not the truth. After dealing with that almost every time we leave the Neck, we know better than to judge someone for something they can not control.”  
So here he was, being treated not for his birth, but for his character as he was here.   
And here he was, standing in front of the door to Lord Howland’s Solar. He had been informed that Lord Reed wanted to speak with him. He had seen Lord Howland a few times in passing or at meals, and he was of course there to greet them when they first arrived, but he was also very busy, so they had yet to have a one on one conversation.   
Sighing, Jon knocked on the door.  
“You can come in.” A pleasant voice said.   
Jon opened the door and saw Lord Howland finishing a message, and putting it in a pile.   
He looked up at Jon. “Apologies that it took so long for us to meet for longer than a few moments, and more privately than a meal.” He stood up out of his chair. Even standing, Jon was over a head taller than the Lord.   
Jon was unsure of how exactly to start a conversation. The closest he ever came with dealing directly with one of his father’s bannermen alone was with Lady Dustin and Lord Bolton on the way down here.   
“It’s alright My Lord. I know from Father how difficult ruling an area can be.” Jon replied.  
“Be that as it may, you are our guest. I have been good friends with your family since the tourney of Harenhal.” Lord Reed assured him.  
“About that, Father said you saved him from Ser Arthur Dayne.” Jon said, hoping to breach a topic he thought Howland would know the answer to.   
“Yes well, that was a dangerous time. I was not thinking of the opponent being one of the most dangerous men in Westeros. I just saw my friend about to die, and the rest was more instinct than valor. Jon, something you should remember was that Arthur Dayne may have been an enemy, but he was no villain. He did his duty as was asked of him, and he died fighting for what he swore to. Do not think of his death as the vanquishing of an evil, but of a warrior doing his duty. Same with Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell. Had the Rebellion not happened, you may have grown up looking up to these men.” Howland explained.  
Jon nodded. He understood from Ned that Ser Arthur was a good man on the wrong side of the war. He always spoke of Dayne with a certain sadness. “Anyway, As I understand it, I would have been born sometime around when you were with my Father. So, I was just wondering... Do you know my mother?” Jon asked.  
He felt a bit ashamed. He had asked his Father many times about his mother, but he always evaded it. Now here he was, going behind his back and asking his old friend to say something Father did not want him to know.  
Lord Reed got a small, sad smile after hearing the question. “I figured you would ask that while here. What can I say… Well for one thing, you should know that your father never told me what her name was. We were at war. He may have mentioned her quickly, but he never came up to me and said ‘Oh Howland, this woman is…’ They say you look like Ned, but I can tell you that if you know where to look, you can see your mother in you, though it is hard to describe.”   
Howland took a breath and continued on. “You know you could have been raised here. I offered it, knowing that Ned’s plans would infuriate Lady Catelyn. But he insisted. In just over a year, his pack had been reduced to just him and Benjen. He wanted to keep you close. If you ever think Ned cared for you less than Robb or the others, let me tell him that he made his choices long ago.”  
Jon did not know what to say. The conversation had been turned around so quickly, and yet it was just as satisfying as the answers he was seeking.   
“Well then Jon, I have to go. As you said, a Lord’s work is never done. See you at Dinner.” Howland ended the conversation and left the solar.   
Unsure what else to do, Jon began walking around the inside of Greywater Watch, just passing the time until everyone else was done. Maybe he should go to the barracks and see if he can get a good trade for any of his spare cards? He was always up for improving his deck.   
“Jon.” A younger voice called out.   
Jon turned around and saw Howland’s heir, Jojen Reed approaching him. Jojen was closer in age with Bran, but had something about him that almost made him seem like Old Nan.   
“Jojen. How have you been?” Jon asked. Lords may be strange, but Jon had talked to many heirs and spares who came to Winterfell throughout his childhood. Even if Robb did most of the talking.   
“I have had some dreams that I think may interest you.” Jojen said.  
Jon had heard about Jojen’s dreams from Meera and the men, but he had never really elaborated on them himself. Jon was sceptical, but also curious, he figured they may be vague enough that people mistake randomness for hints of the future. Throw out enough guesses and you can get something right. Like how Maester Luwin always bemoaned the fact that Robb could guess the answer to a math problem without understanding why it was right.   
“Really? I heard you have strange dreams. What have you seen?”  
“I had several right after another.” Jojen said, closing his eyes to concentrate.   
“I dreamt of an Onion rolling after a flame. The flame changes color and burns the onion, only for a bird to save the onion before it burns to ash. The Bird then departs, almost as if it is searching for something or someone and decided to help on a whim.  
“I saw a Lion with sticks for horns boast of his greatness, only to attract a dragon’s ire.   
“I witnessed Dawn turn to Dusk as a sword and a mountain burn with purple flames. The fire keeps going, and all animals flee but some get burned before they can escape.  
“I dreamt of a yellow doe raised among falcons meeting a black stag and lion cubs, who accepted her into the Pride, as they did with a yellow stag.” Jojen said before opening his eyes.   
“This last one is probably the most important. I saw a White wolf, cloaking itself in darkness, and snapping its jaws around birds that glowed with false light.” Jojen said, staring right into Jon’s eyes.  
Jon would admit, he felt a chill up his spine upon hearing the last dream. “Have you ever had any dreams that were connected, or that you don’t know if they are true?” He asked.  
“Some of my dreams are far away. I could never know if they come true, but the ones that happen closer come true, so I assume they would. As for connected, a while ago I dreamt of the dragon that appeared before. I saw it fight some burning flames, but I did not see the end of that until a later dream. I also saw a bear and a stag in that one, but perhaps the stag was really the lion in disguise. I also dreamt of the purple flames and the sword, but the mountain was a new part of it.”  
“Well, I don’t know if your dreams are really true, but let's hope they are not.” Jon said, feeling the hair on his neck raise higher the more time they stayed on this topic.  
Suddenly, a horn blew.   
‘It looks like Dryn and the hunters are back.’ Jon thought to himself.   
He looked over to where the gate was opening, and boats filled with hunters approached the moving Keep.   
More hunters than had originally gone out.   
“Lord Reed!” One of the Crannogmen yelled, and Howland appeared moments later.  
“What is going on?” He asked, confused.  
“We were hunting just south of the Neck, and we saw a large group of people coming up the Kingsroad. Many of them had those circle scars we heard about from down south.” The hunter replied.   
Jon realized what they were talking about.   
The Faith Militant.   
They had heard about them appearing in the South, but Father said that Robert and the Lords could handle it, and would ask for aid if they needed it. Neither Jon or Ned thought that they would actually come together to make a force and actually invade the North.  
“How large are we talking?” Howland asked as Jon noticed Dryn get out of the boats. The two hunting parties must have met up and come back together.   
“I counted at least a few hundred we could make out, some were mounted, but most were on foot. And in the distance, we saw another large group.” The hunter replied.  
Howland looked deep in concentration. “Send ravens to the other Keeps and houses. Have them prepare their defenses and march to Moat Cailin. The rest of us shall prepare traps along the Kingsroad and surrounding areas to buy them time.”   
As Crannogmen scrambled about, following Lord Reed’s orders, he turned to Jon and Dryn, who were just joined by Ygritte.   
“Jon, apologies that your visit got interrupted by this, but I fear it is time for you to leave. I will have men escort you through the Neck. Once out, head to Moat Cailin and meet up with the reinforcements that will be arriving.” Howland said in a commanding voice that reminded Jon of his Father.   
By the time the sun was setting, Jon, Dryn and Ygritte were pushing their horses, hoping to get to Moat Cailin before the Sparrows caught up with them.

WINTERFELL  
ROBB  
“Well then, it seems you will be heading back to the Iron Islands soon.” Robb said to Theon as they put their sparring equipment away.   
They had received a raven from the capital just this morning. It had explained that as a reward for their help in Dorne, the Ironborn had asked for Theon back, in exchange for his mother becoming a hostage at the closer Casterly Rock. Feelings ranged from Robb feeling like he was losing a brother, to Sansa and her friend’s silent relief that Theon and his crass jokes and actions would be far away from them.  
“Can’t leave for awhile though. Lord Stark is supposed to escort me west. So I will still be here until he gets back and settles your mistakes.” Theon joked.  
Robb had done his best to try to be Lord of Winterfell, but his best was not perfect. One day while Luwin and Catelyn were busy dealing with more long term issues, Robb granted a merchant special permission to have his ships continue fishing after the Manderly’s ordered a slow down on it. That resulted in a raven that had a message that was equal parts understanding, and annoyed.   
There was also a notable increase in Lords coming to Winterfell for business that could be done over Raven. Almost all of them were accompanied by female relatives around Robb’s age, or otherwise known for their appearance. Arya took care of the more obnoxious among those.   
“We should do something. You’ve been here for years, and while some may not miss you, I can assure you your absence will be noted by almost everyone. Perhaps a farewell feast.” Robb suggested.  
“Or,” Theon interrupted. “I could finally bring you to the brothel to make you a man.”   
Robb flustered. “Be serious Theon. I can’t-”  
“You really can. Your Mother is never gonna want to know your sex life, she’d rather imagine you as her babe even if you both live to see you grow grey hair. Your Father can’t really complain since he is friends with the King, and you are getting older. And anyone else who may object is likely guilty of the same thing.” Theon pointed out Robb’s position.   
Robb was still less than thrilled at the idea. “I don’t kn-” Robb began only to be interrupted by Theon again. This time clasping his hand over Robb’s shoulder.  
“Take it from me. For all they’re looked up to, an actual maiden and an inexperienced man are not the ideal. My first time at the whorehouse was a mess, I don’t fear to admit. And I made the mistake of paying for the new girl instead of someone else who knew how to handle it. Trust me, your future wife will thank me on your wedding night if you go with me.”  
Robb, no longer wanting to pursue this conversation, especially because Theon was getting louder and others were nearby, changed the subject. “How do you think Arya is handling her latest punishment?”   
“Doubt very well. Honestly Sansa overreacted. That snake was in no way poisonous. But now she is stuck with the smiling Septa.” Theon said with a shrug.  
That was a sort of unknown change. For some reason, Septa Mordane had been in a very good mood lately. It was hard to see most of the time, but anyone who spent time with her before would notice a sort of extra jump in her step, like a child on their name day. Now that he thought about it, the same could be said for Septon Chayle.  
‘I’m sure we will figure out the reason soon.’ Robb dismissed the strangeness of it.

PENTOS-ILLYRIO’S MANSE  
VISERYS  
Viserys was completely sure he was sober. He had not touched any drink in four days.  
Which meant he had gone mad.   
“I have been watching this Ser Jorah since he woke up. I have found no sign that he is spying, but that does not mean that he is not.” Maegor/Tri Horn said.   
“Always paranoid as ever Uncle. It was that paranoia that led to your undoing.” Jaehaerys I/Luster Dragon said.  
The two of them had shrunken further, now they were about the size of large cats.   
“Be that as it may, I was attacked right after Ser Jorah joined the household, so we must be wary of him.” Viserys said as he leaned on a wall.  
The two spirit ghosts had not gone away. Well, they did leave to explore, but they were always present. It appeared they could go no further than a mile from him.   
Then there was the issue of getting the stories straight.   
SEVERAL DAYS AGO  
“So let me see if I understand this. You are Maegor I, The third king to sit the Iron Throne? And you, are Jaehaerys I, the fourth king?” Viserys asked the two floating transparent dragons that hovered over his bed.  
“So, if you two are who you claim to be, why are you here now?” Viserys asked, still confused. He had just survived a near death battle, and now was with two very dead ancestors.   
“I can not say really.” Jaehaerys said. “I remember everything up to the moment of my death, and then there is some knowledge I should not have, such as the Blackfyres and Summerhall. It’s not as good as if I had lived there, but I have the general idea of what happened.”  
“Same for me.” Maegor said. “Except one big gap in my memory- my own death. One moment I am walking to the Throne room, the next I am impaled on the Throne.”   
“Really? Nothing?” Viserys asked. Maegor’s death was one of the greatest mysteries, and even Maegor apparently was unsure of his death.  
Maegor closed his eyes in thought.   
‘An odd sight for a dragon’ Viserys thought to himself.  
“I remember fire. Purple flames, and a figure walking through them. But it's hazy.” Maegor said as he opened his eyes again.  
“Okay then, what about now? What is your newest memory before you appeared in my duel?” Viserys asked, focusing more on the current issue than a two century mystery.  
“It’s strange. I remember a warm glow, and that I was not alone. I was surrounded by others, though I can not recall them now. Then I heard yelling. I went to investigate it, and I felt a cold rush. I found myself listening to a voice speaking of failures and vengeance. I tried to drown it out with my own voice, disparaging the speaker and telling the recipient of the words to ignore it. I followed the voice not to its source, but in the direction that it was heading, and next thing I know, I am being summoned by you.” Jaehaerys said.   
“Same concept with me. I attempted to follow the voice, and wound up with you in battle.” Maegor said.  
Viserys remembered the dreams he had recently. After his father’s voice consumed his mind, he had fallen asleep, and his father’s voice was drowned out by what Viserys now realized were the sounds of dragons. But it was more than just one or two. Which means…  
“So, you think you two are it, or will more dead relatives join us over time?” Viserys asked, to which the two spirits had no answer.   
PRESENT  
“Right now, Ser Jorah is our only ally from Westeros. We need more like him. We can't just invade Westeros with another people’s armies. It sends the wrong message to those who would otherwise support us. We would be seen as a foreign enemy taking their land by force.” Maegor summarized. To which Viserys and Jaehaerys nodded in agreement.

WHITE HARBOUR  
NED STARK  
Ned stood aboard the Manderly’s flagship, the Ice Trident as he looked at the single northern city that was growing larger by the second. Finally, after months south, he was getting close to home.   
For all the tragedy the war with Dorne was shaping into, it had actually gone better than Ned could have hoped for. Especially considering what war was like before the cards had appeared. He had gone south fully expecting that most of the men he had were just the first wave of northerners, but they turned out to be the only wave.   
That was not to say that it had gone perfectly. The Breaking of Sunspear, as it was now being called, had led to Northerners dying, as well as the survivors learning that the attack had been unnecessary. Varys was looking into who had given the order, but nothing came up yet. Jory had said less than a dozen words upon learning it.   
Now though, it was a time to rebuild. Daemon Uller had been given a partial pardon, and would be fully forgiven if he managed to help Dorne heal. The council all agreed he would be dead within the year. Doran would aid Trystane and rebuild Dorne, and together, they would mourn the loss of son and brother, while hoping for Arriane’s return.  
Ned shook himself out of his worries of the south. Robert and Jon could handle it, he was sure. He had to focus on the North.   
He prayed that Robb had handled it all well, but the boy was young, even with Maester Luwin and Cat to help, he may make some mistakes. There was also the issue of Jon, since Cat had broached the subject and forced him to send Jon on an errand. From what ravens came to the capital, Jon had taken his advice and gone at a more scenic pace, staying on the road longer than was necessary. This put extra time between him and Cat having to see each other.  
As far as Cat knew, she was justified in her anger. To her, Jon was a constant reminder of Ned’s shame. She would have no problem if Ned had sent him off to the Reeds as Howland offered. But he just could not.  
“Promise me Ned.” An old ghost whispered into his ear. A voice that had been full of confidence and will in life, reduced to a scared plea in the moments before death.   
Soon, The Ice Trident docked in White Harbour, with cheering smallfolk celebrating their Lord’s return from a short and successful war.   
As soon as he was on dry land again, Ned was greeted by a large man that would be called the fattest man ever seen by anyone who did not know his father and brother.   
“Ser Wendel.” Ned greeted the knight.   
Ser Wendel, normally a man one could always expect to have a jovial smile, was more somber than Ned had ever seen the man. Ned briefly wondered if something had happened to Lord Manderly to make his son so sad.  
Ser Wendel shook his head. And put on a poor imitation of his usual smile. “Lord Stark, welcome back to White Harbour. And congratulations on winning the war.” He said.  
Planning on asking what was wrong in a more private setting, Ned moved on to seeing about securing a resting place for the men.   
“Don’t worry, Lord Stark. Most of the men you took were from White Harbour, so they can just head home. The rest I am sure we can house in a few nearby inns.” Ser Wendel reassured his lord. “For now though, I believe my father would like to talk with you.”  
“Of course, lead the way.” Ned said, walking with the knight. “Has there been any new developments in the North while I was away?”   
“Well, I don’t know what goes on in every part of the North, but here it has been relatively quiet. Most interesting thing to happen in the city was a man trying to sell fake cards with the wrong abilities or points. A Baby Dragon with 1500 attack points instead of 1200, a Pot of Greed that lets you draw three cards instead of two, even a Jinzo that stops spell cards instead of traps. Of course none of them work when put on a duel disk, so he was found quickly.” Ser Wendel turned to look at Ned. “Apologies, I just remembered there was a merchant’s cart that broke a wheel and spilled it’s wares on the road. We should take more of a backway. Follow me.” Ser Wendel said, bringing Ned to a side road.   
“What do you know about Robb?” Ned asked, following him.   
“The boy has made some mistakes, notably one here regarding fishing rights, but nothing too bad. I’m sure that now that he has some experience, he will be more prepared for it when his time comes.” Ser Wendel said.   
“I hope so. I believe I taught him well, but a father always worries.” Ned said with a sad smile.  
“I know what you mean. A man will do almost anything for his family. No matter how bad it seems.” Ser Wendel said, before stopping and opening a door. “After you, Lord Stark.”   
Ned walked in, wondering what was in the building. He saw some candle light illuminating some statues.  
“Did you take me to a Sept?” Ned asked, only to turn around, and see Ser Wendel close the door hard.  
“I’M SORRY! I HAD NO CHOICE!” He heard Ser Wendel yell from behind the door.   
Ned ran to it, but he could not get the door to open it. Something was blocking it.   
“Lord Eddard Stark!” A voice yelled from behind Ned. He turned, and between the statues, was a Septon. One with a visible circular scar on his head.   
‘A Sparrow.’ Ned realized. He had heard much about them of course, and down south he learned they were harassing the Stormlands enough that soldiers were being rerouted there instead of Dorne. But Ned never thought they would be able to make their way North.   
“What is the meaning of this? Ned asked the man, already having a feeling he knew what it was.   
“As if an unwashed savage who worships trees instead of the Seven could ever understand our brilliant plan.” The Septon laughed. “And now, to cut the head off of the savages, so they will fear the Seven and make amends for their false gods like they should have thousands of years ago.” The Septon’s Duel Disk appeared on his arm, as did Ned’s as he prepared to defend himself.   
N: 4000 S: 4000  
“All things considered, I shall go first.” Ned said as he drew.   
“I play a face down, and summon Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts.” The brown beast appeared on the field with a loud roar.   
“That is all for now.” Ned said.  
“My move.” The Sparrow said as he drew.  
“And with it, your life will end. I summon The Agent of Creation- Venus.” A light appeared on the field, and when it dissipated, there was a female form with four wings and a mask of gold standing on the field.   
“Now I activate her ability, by sacrificing 500 Life Points, I can summon a Mystical Shine Ball from my deck, and I have 3!”  
The septon glowed a bit, only for the light to leave him and be absorbed by Venus, turning it into balls of pure white light, each with 500 attack points, while Venus had 1600.  
“Next I equip her with Silver Bow and Arrow, raising her attack by 300 points. Now then, Venus will destroy your Gazelle, and then my Mystical balls will attack you directly!”   
Venus’ hands glowed, and an arrow of light shot forward from the bow, and stabbed Gazelle’s throat, causing the beast king to choke on his own blood. Then the balls of lights flew forward, and struck Ned in the gut, head and chest.   
N: 2100 S: 2500  
“That will be all, but next turn will be your last.” The Septon said with a laugh.   
“My move.” Ned said as he drew.   
“Since you have five cards on the field, and I only have one, I can special summon Medium of the Ice Barrier from my hand.”  
On the field arose a woman wearing a blue dress, with blue hair falling all the way down to her knees. She had 2200 attack points.  
“Next, I summon Samurai of the Ice Barrier.”   
A blue armored man appeared, he held a sword not unlike that of Masaki.   
“Next, I activate my trap card, Snowman Effect. This card lets me add Samurai’s attack to Medium’s. The only downside is I cannot directly attack. But no matter. With 4000 attack points, she will destroy your Mystical Shine Ball!” Ned announced.   
Medium raised her hands, and a beam of pure ice Impaled both the Shine Ball in the center, as well as the nameless Septon's chest, right where his heart was.  
N: Victor S: Defeat  
“Impos- The gods we-- on m- si-e” He stuttered out before falling on the ground, dead.  
Worried that there may be more would be assassins, Ned ran out the front door before any could reveal themselves.   
He ran out and the moment he did, he saw Ser Wendel, both relieved and scared at his Lord Paramount’s survival.   
Ned ran up to the man and slammed the knight into the wall of a building. “Explain. Now.”   
“No choice. Please forgive me Lord Stark.” Ser Wendel got out. “The Sparrows have my nieces and their mother. They went to pray and were captured. We were told to lure you into a trap to die, and they would release them. Now we don’t know what will happen. The Sparrows were sure you would lose.”   
Ned loosened his grip on Ser Wendel. Who was he to judge a man guilty of treason to protect their family?   
“What of your father?” Ned asked.  
“Father is in the main hall, holding court as usual. He sent men he trusted to search everywhere, but no one found them before you arrived.” Ser Wendel explained.  
Ned looked around. Ser Wendel and the Manderly’s had had the forethought to clear the streets, likely to not draw unwanted eyes to their crimes.   
“Follow me.” Ned said, heading back into the Sept.   
Once the two were in there, Ned examined the corpse of the Sparrow he had killed.   
They both had similar hair color, and he was of similar build and height.   
Ned looked around and found a spare Septon’s robes. He undressed and put the Septon’s on, while ordering Ser Wendel to strip the sparrow and put him in Ned’s now discarded clothes.   
After both the living man and corpse were wearing the other’s clothes, Ned reached for a solid heavy object- A statue of the Stranger, fittingly, - and smashed the corpse’s face several times, until it was naught but a bloody mess.   
Ned put the Septon’s hood up, obscuring his head more. “As far as they know, he succeeded, and you took him until your family was returned. Now, let us go see your father.”  
With that, two men guilty of crimes for the same reason headed out to New Castle. Hoping that they would be able to save the Sparrow’s hostages before it was too late.

AN: And another chapter done.  
-Jon and company get treated as guests in the Neck, only to rush out to warn of the Sparrows and prepare for the attack.   
-Theon begins to prepare for his journey back to the Iron Islands.   
-Viserys still sees Duel Spirits, and his suspicion of Ser Jorah is given.   
-Ned makes it back to White Harbor only for a surprise attack from the only real foothold the Sparrows have in the North. This duel got cut short to speed up the writing. Apologies if it was too quick.  
Next chapter may be a bit late, but it is sort of the climax of this arc, and so I want to do it justice. I will try to get it out by next weekend, but no promises.   
Tune in next chapter for JON VS HIGH SPARROW.   
Also, a reminder that this work has a TVtropes page. If any readers have an account, please help me to fill it out.  
Hope you all are safe during these trying times.   
Good luck to all of you.


	27. Chapter 27: Light Sparrow and Dark Wolf

AN: I have been waiting for this since I started it. Hope it lives up to expectations.

Also, between this chapter and the last, it has been six months since I joined FF. What better way to celebrate than by posting this chapter?

MOAT CAILIN

JON SNOW

Jon and the group had made it to Moat Cailin in a mere three days. They had rested only long enough for their horses to get their breath and pushed them as far as they could.

Along the way, they had warned every smallfolk they had come across, but those were few and far between. One had at least given them fresh horses to ride on and used theirs to go warn the small villages that Jon and the others had no time to get to.

After reaching the Moat, they could do no more than wait. Some of the villagers who had been warned ended up sending people up, as well as some scouts who were sent by the lords ahead of them, but it would still be a while before actual soldiers would arrive.

In total, the Moat had roughly forty people, all of whom were listening to Jon's orders, as he was the highest ranked among them despite his Bastardry.

It was strange. He was told both harshly and gently growing up that being a Snow would mean a life of no respect, and of constant suspicion of treachery.

But here, these people were looking up to him. They were relying on him. He may have been a Snow, but he was still a Stark as well.

On the fourth day since getting to Moat Cailin, A scout returned. They had sent him south to see if he could find the Faith Militant on the road.

He approached Jon as soon as he was in the Moat. "They are perhaps two days south walking, although the riders may be here at night if they decide to split off from the Infantry. They number at about a thousand, with no doubt that more are behind them."

Jon cursed at that. According to the other scouts, the lords and their troops would not be arriving for another two to three days.

By all accounts, they would be either here just in time, or too late. Moat Cailin had never fallen, but it was practically unmanned. Counting the scouts, the people who had seen actual combat numbered eight. And that was including Ygritte and Dryn. Even taking into account dueling, most of the smallfolk were people who could not waste money on cards, and as such were stuck with weak decks that they had never really been able to improve.

Jon called together all the people into the center of the moat and explained the situation.

"Anyone who cannot fight, head North. Take the horses and ride as fast as you can to the Northern forces and tell them to hurry up. Anyone who wishes to stay, I will not stop you, but know it is likely the end. I will be staying behind to try to hold the Moat, but I doubt it will work for long."

Jon figured he could likely beat one or two, but the fact remained that he could not deal with the entire army. And while he dueled, nothing was stopping the rest of the Sparrows from just leaving and continuing North.

Soon, the forty individuals had been reduced to ten. Among them were Dryn and Ygritte.

"You two really should go. If you die, it will worsen relations with the Free Folk." Jon told them after the others left.

"Us abandoning a Stark to die alone would also be bad for us. Same if they manage to win." Ygritte pointed out.

"Besides, I doubt we would be welcome by anyone between here and Winterfell without you." Dryn pointed out.

Jon nodded at their arguments. Unfortunately, they spoke the truth. "Alright then, you two actually have plans for what you will do?"

"Well…" Dryn said, pointing to the Drunkard's tower, which had such a lean it was a surprise it was still standing.

Realization dawned on Jon. "Are you…"

"Going to smash the walls with some of the others hard enough that parts fall off and crush these Sparrows? Yeah. That is the plan." Dryn said.

This boy was actually planning on collapsing a tower onto people.

Jon shook his head. "Alright then, what about you?" He asked Ygritte.

"Shooting at the people will not work if I aim. So I won't." Ygrtitte said. She pointed at a rock, and readied her bow, and shot in the air. The arrow landed ten feet away from the rock.

"If I aim, it triggers a duel. If I just let loose, I can hit them randomly." Ygritte explained.

Jon considered it. If the Faith Militant stayed huddled together, then that may actually work in weeding them out. It would not turn the tide, but they doubted they could do that with so few fighters anyway.

"If that is the plan, then go to the Gatehouse Tower. It's the tallest so they will take a while to reach you. Also, you can just toss rocks down at them if you run out."

"That was the plan." Ygritte said in a fake annoyed tone.

"Well then, before they get here, care to make any trades?" Jon asked, pulling out his deck.

Ygritte arched an eyebrow. "Trying to make final changes?"

"Aye. I have some cards that I think I could use without now." Jon said, handing his deck over.

Ygritte and Dryn looked it over. Ygritte pulled out two monsters.

"You already have Blue Flame Swordsman. It is better in every way than just Flame Swordsman. So you should get rid of Flame Manipulator and Masaki." Ygritte explained, showing the cards she had grabbed.

Dryn grabbed one as well. "Giga-Tech Wolf has no effect and lower attack than your other normal monsters. It may be time to stop using it."

Jon nodded. They spoke the truth. "The real question is, what will you give me in exchange?"

Dryn was the first one to give an answer. He pulled out a card from his own deck. "You are very lucky I have two of these." He handed it over.

Jon looked in shock. He had seen Dryn use it himself.

Schwarzschild Limit Dragon. A Level eight dragon that could be special summoned if the opponent had a stronger monster. It was good for buying Dryn a turn or had ways to power it up.

Jon and Dryn turned to Ygritte.

She was also looking through her cards, and found two to give to Jon. "Don't lose."

Jon looked at the two cards. First was Beast of Talwar, a level six Archfiend. The other was Meteor Dragon. Another level six.

Suddenly, two more cards appeared in Jon's hand.

"Got a fusion?" Dryn asked, recognizing what the additional cards meant.

"Yeah." Jon answered half-heartedly, being more focused checking out the two fusions. "These could be useful."

THE NEXT DAY

The large group heading up the Kingsroad was now clearly visible to the naked eye. By the looks of it, they had probably marched through the night.

'Makes sense.' Jon thought. 'With Howland and the Crannogmen harassing them, they would want to get out of the Neck's portion of the Kingsroad as quickly as they could.'

While watching the distant group come closer, Jon and the other people who stayed behind took their time breaking their fast. It may well be their last meal. Might as well savor it.

It was around noon that Jon made the decision to walk out to confront them. He stood outside the Moat's perimeter, and sat on a log, awaiting their arrival.

As they got closer, the Faith Militant noticed him. They stopped for a bit, and a man emerged from the group, standing in front of the others. He was an old man, greying where he was not balding. Jon noted that he did not have a star scarred into his visible skin. He also lacked any boots or anything on his legs, which allowed Jon to note just how much his feet were covered in the bog of the Neck. Jon was honestly surprised that his feet were still there.

Without standing up, Jon spoke. "Any particular reason such a large group is traveling up here?"

The old man walked closer and addressed him. "Just some good people who have seen the truth and wished to spread it to where it has never been heard."

"Truth? I admit I do not know what the truth is. I have an idea, but if it is all the same, I would rather not find out if my idea is true for as long as possible. What I DO KNOW, is that if you go to spread your version of the truth in the ways I have heard you have done, many of my people will die. And I do not want that to happen." Jon said. If this man wanted to talk, let him, it just gave the actual forces more time to arrive. Jon figured he was dead either way, but it could be the difference between if others lived or died. So he would make this last as long as possible.

The old man smiled. But while it may look to others as a smile of a kind grandfather, Jon saw it for what it was. A smile that spoke 'It's amusing to see just how wrong you are'.

"You do not know the truth? Just look at these cards. It was hardly a year ago that they first appeared. And look how much they have changed our society. If that is not proof of the gods' work, what is?"

Jon shrugged. "By that logic, only those faithful to the Seven would have gotten cards. But they did not. We have them, and even people far to the east like the Dothraki and Lhazareen have them. I could say like others have that it was the Old Gods who are responsible, and I have just about the same likelihood as you of being correct."

The crows behind the old man grew restless at that. They obviously did not like the insinuation that something other than the Seven was responsible.

With a single raised arm, the old man caused the group to quiet down.

"Be that as it may, the fact remains that this land is in need of the Light of the Seven. Our ancestors fought for it thousands of years ago, but they failed and died. And ever since your people have been condemned to suffer through no fault of their own, out of sheer ignorance. And why? Because their lords and houses realize that when the people they rule are united under the divine protection of the gods, their superiority would not last a moon. So they lie. They say all you need is a tree that is the right color and you are guaranteed a good afterlife. Now, I am all for simplicity, but that is by no means enough. They don't even have ways for the gods to impart their wisdom to their followers." The old man said, returning moral to his people.

Jon was reminded of his childhood. Growing up in the godswood, being brought to the heart tree by his father. Being told about the old gods.

"Close your eyes. You feel that cold wind blowing against your face? That is the gods' warning for you to stay away. Those birds you hear in the trees? Those are Kestrels, awaiting more Sparrows to give them the strength to fly south for winter, as you should be doing. You just barely got out of the Neck, and I can tell from your feet that the old gods gave you ample warning that the land and people would resist you with all they are. Nothing is stopping you from marching back and returning to the lands you are at least familiar with." Jon spoke.

Seeing no way to tempt Jon with his words, the old man seemed to resign himself to the more violent path. "I see that you are too far gone to understand. Be that as it may, I shall pray for your soul to have salvation. Would you please tell me your name?"

Jon stood up, took a breath, and summoned his duel disk. He took a moment debating whether to use his full name or not, but he figured he was going to die anyway, it would not change his fate. "Jon...Snow."

The old man's face changed slightly, as though both understanding and loathing were coming to the surface. "I see. You were unsavable from the start. The embodiment of lust, but even worse. Whereas most will at least be humbled by being forced to live amongst regular good people, you were given no such balance. There was never a chance for one such as you. But as the High Septon of the true faith, it is my duty to remove your sin from the world, for you are just like most of these northern lords."

Jon was confused by that last remark. "What do you mean by that?"

"Most of the northern lords are simply lines of Bastardry. None of them, not the Umbers, the Boltons, or the Flints or any of them were married in the sight of the gods. As such, each and every lord and lady who stood before a tree, is nothing but a Bastard such as yourself feigning being a trueborn. The Manderlys and a few minor houses are the exception, but still, they have grown too arrogant. Your own lord father was thankfully married by a Septon, so his children are trueborn, but Lady Catelyn failed to educate this wasteland of the Faith, so she must pay as well.

The old man summoned his duel disk as well, while the crowd watched.

'I suppose they want to watch the show. Guess that will mean I can buy even more time.' Jom thought as he drew his starting hand.

J: 4000 HS: 4000

"Since you are the instigator, I shall go first." Jon said as he drew.

"I play two cards face down and summon Cannon Soldier in attack mode." Jon announced as the purple metallic monster came onto the field.

"That will be all for now." Jon said.

The High Sparrow turned his head around, so he was looking at his fellow Sparrows. "Of course, the first monster he summons to the field is a dark one. As we knew would be the case. But it matters not."

He drew his card and looked at his hand. "I summon Shining Angel, in attack mode. Then I play two cards face down."

A blond man in a white robe floated down from the sky on four golden wings. It matched Cannon Soldier point for point.

"Also, I activate my equip spell, Elf's Light, increasing its attack to 1800. Now then, it shall destroy your metal demon!" The High Sparrow ordered.

The winged man charged forth, arms alight and shot a beam of light directly at Cannon Soldier, only for the cannon to shoot out a beam of its own, each attack blowing their target into pieces. Though Shining Angel's pieces had more blood than Cannon's.

When the chaos cleared, the High Sparrow and his followers looked over to see one of Jon's Trap Cards had been activated.

"Skill Successor. It increases one of my monster's attack points by 400. Same as yours. So we are even." Jon explained.

"Not quite. When Shining Angel is destroyed, I can summon another Light monster from my deck, so long as it has 1500 or less attack points. And I choose Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid."

A man with white hair and holding a grey book appeared on the field. With 1200 attack points, it stood no chance against either of its predecessors from before the battle phase, but now it was all alone, and had a clear shot at Jon.

"Now Aurkus, attack the Bastard directly!" The High Sparrow ordered.

The old man ran forth, and prepared to throw his book at Jon, only for the other trap to flip over and reveal itself.

Defense Draw.

As the book bounced harmlessly against the trap, Jon drew a card from his deck.

"Clever, but I have the gods on my side. Your luck will fail, it is only a matter of time." The High Sparrow ended his turn. But not before he took the top two cards of his deck and placed them in the graveyard. When he noticed Jon's curious look, he explained. "Aurkus' ability."

Jon nodded and drew another card. 'That bought me time, but I would rather I did not use BOTH my traps so quickly. Can't be helped I suppose.' he thought to himself as he looked at his hand.

"I play Double Summon. This allows me to summon two monsters instead of just one this turn. First, I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and then I summon Fossil Tusker."

After Celtic Guardian appeared on the field, he was joined by a large white creature that had tusks and brown fur from dirt near the ground.

'This way I can hopefully still have a defense if it is a trap.' Jon thought to himself.

"Now, Fossil Tusker, destroy Aurkus!" Jon commanded.

Fossil Tusker rushed forward, and in mere moments, both Aurkus and his book found themselves impaled on its tusks, his blood adding color to Fossil Tusker's appearance.

"Just so you know, when Fossil Tusker destroys a monster by combat, he deals an additional 400 damage to you. So now you just lost an even thousand life points." Jon explained.

Fossil Tusker flung Aurkus off its tusks, only for a piece of the earth to rise up from the ground, blocking the High Sparrow from being harmed. Upon closer inspection, it was a statue of a woman with green hair and a staff.

J: 4000 HS: 6000

Upon seeing Jon's shock, the High Sparrow let out a small chuckle. "Ah yes, my trap card. Aegis of Gaia. It gives me an additional 3000 Life Points while it stays on the field. So instead of going down to 3000, I went up to 6000."

Jon bit back a curse. Unfortunately, his deck was not built with removing traps or spells from the field, which put him at a disadvantage against such a card. No matter, he went in knowing the odds were against him.

"Be that as it may, now I know your field is wide open. So Celtic Guardian will attack!" Jon once again ordered his monster.

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian charged forward and slashed the statue. It failed to break it, but it did leave a large crack almost cutting it in half.

J: 4000 HS: 4600

"That is all from me this turn." Jon admitted.

The High Sparrow drew another card and smiled. He put the fresh card in his hand and pulled out another.

"You shall all bear witness to a true knight. Not one corrupted by wealth or status. I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin."

A light enveloped a space on the field. When it receded, there stood a fully armored knight, save for the helm. Because of this, one could see the man's young face and white hair. He boasted the same attack as Fossil Tusker: 1800.

"Now Jain, attack his Celtic Guardian, and show him that the Warrior grants his strength to the righteous!" The High Sparrow commanded.

Jain rushed forward and locked blades with Celtic Guardian. Suddenly, his blade began to glow.

"In case you were unaware, Jain gains 300 attack points when he declares an attack." The High Sparrow mentioned quickly.

However, even with the glowing blade empowering Jain, Celtic Guardian managed to block an otherwise fatal strike and force Jain back, but suffered a cut on the arm that appeared on Jon's arm as well.

J: 3300 HS: 4600

"Fortunately, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian cannot be defeated by a monster with more than 1900 attack points. My life points may have taken a hit, but he is safe." Jon explained.

"Very well then. I end my turn." The High Sparrow said. "And by doing so, I must send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard."

He picked them up and briefly looked at them, before grabbing one of them.

"Fortunately for me, one of them was Wulf, Lightsworn Beast! When it is sent to the graveyard from the deck, I can Special Summon it!" He explained as he placed the card down.

On the field, a human like creature appeared on the field. It looked like a man, save for its head being that of a wolf. Behind its wolf head, was a long white ponytail, and on its arms were some sort of wolf claw shaped weapons. In its hands was a double-bladed axe, though the handle was far longer than most axes Jon had ever seen. It was as strong as Jain during combat, at 2100 attack points.

'On the bright side, if he keeps sending his deck to the graveyard, then I may win from a deck out. No, that would be too easy. If that were a problem, he would have lost already.' Jon thought as he drew to start off his turn.

Looking at his hand which consisted of three cards, and the field, which had two, Jon looked for any way to take out Wulf.

"I want to keep Skill Successor for an emergency. This will work, but barely.' Jon thought to himself.

"I equip Celtic Guardian with the Fusion Sword Murasame Blade! This can only be equipped to warriors and boosts his attack by 800. Not only that, the sword cannot be targeted by card effects." Jon explained. The sword appeared in front of Celtic Guardian, and he took a hold of it, raising his attack to 2200, turning him from the weakest on the field to the strongest. Now Obnoxious Celtic Guardian was essentially invincible, as it could not be destroyed by stronger monsters head on.

'He still has a face down, but he did not activate it last turn when I attacked him directly. Meaning it could be a power up card, and he did not use it because it would not have been enough to save Aurkus.' Jon tried to think about what could upset his plan, but he had no other choice but to attack.

"Now, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack Wulf!" Jon commanded.

Celtic Guardian rushed to Wulf, and while his first sword was deflected by the axe, the Fusion Blade penetrated his unarmoured leg, bringing Wulf down and allowing Celtic Guardian to slice off his head.

Jon looked down to check the Life Points.

J: 3300 HS: 6500

'WHAT! How?' Jon thought in a panic. The High Sparrow had almost double his Jon's own Life Points.

"I see you are confused. How about you look over here?" The High Sparrow said, pointing to his revealed trap card.

"Numinous Healer. I gain a thousand Life Points, and an additional 500 for each other Numinous Healer in my Graveyard. And it just so happens that both of them had already been sent by my Lightsworn monster's abilities. A bit of a waste it seems at first, but the Seven know what they are doing, I assure you."

Jon bit his lip. This was in part more annoying than anything else.

'Wait. Three Numinous Healers, Aurkus, Shining Angel and Elf's Light, and now Wulf. And there was one other card that he discarded that I do not know the identity of. That makes eight.'

"Out of curiosity, mind telling all of us what the other card you sent was?" Jon asked. It was more out of curiosity, but he was within his right to ask, as there were cards that would let Jon interact with the High Sparrow's graveyard.

Shrugging, the High Sparrow reached into the graveyard and pulled out the card. "It was sent by Aurkus' ability along with one of the Healers. It is a Trap called Ray of Hope." He explained.

Jon nodded. What it actually was did not matter, but it was always best to know just in case.

"I end my battle phase without using Fossil Tusker. I end my turn by playing one card face down." Jon announced. He was down to one card in his hand, but the card he just played, which he kept in his hand to assure it would not be destroyed easily, may just be what was needed to turn the battle around.

"My turn then." The High Septon announced as he drew.

"First, I sacrifice Jain, the Lightsworn Paladin. Then I summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel in attack mode."

Jain turned into a burst of light, and standing in his stead, was a woman with purple hair in a white dress. She had 2300 attack points. 100 more than Celtic Guardian.

"Now then, I shall activate her ability. By discarding the top four cards of my deck, I can select two cards on the field and destroy them. And I choose both of your monsters!" The High Sparrow announced.

Beams of light emanated from Celestia's hands, shooting a hole right in the foreheads of both monsters before their bodies clattered to the ground.

"Now Celestia will attack you Directly!" The High Sparrow ordered.

A third beam of light shot forward at Jon, only to dissipate into nothing.

"Now it is your turn to look at my trap. Ghost of a Grudge. Since you have eight or more cards in your graveyard, your monster has 0 attack points." Jon revealed his trap.

"Very well then, I shall end my turn." The High Septon said, annoyance at Jon's stall tactics as obvious in his voice as Jon's for his.

"My move then." Jon said as he drew.

Jon then did something no one watching, either from the crowd of Faith Militant behind the High Sparrow, or the few souls of the North standing behind Jon in the Moat, was expecting.

He walked across the field, right up to the High Sparrow. The old man and the boy on the cusp of manhood stared at each other.

"I would like to examine your Graveyard." Jon said simply.

It was his right as his opponent, and the High Sparrow said nothing as he removed the cards from his graveyard, and handed them over to the Bastard, without so much as giving them a look himself. Though he did so in a stiff way that showed disdain.

Jon began examining the cards that either he or a Lightsworn effect had sent to the graveyard. After a moment, he nodded, and handed them back to the High Septon.

"Thank you." He said simply, before walking back to his side of the field, which was completely barren.

Once back on his side, he turned back to face his enemy, like nothing had just occurred.

Then, he began his turn.

"First, I shall play the card I just drew, Pot of Greed. You probably know this, but it allows me to draw two more cards into my hand." Jon played the card and drew. After looking briefly at the two new cards, Jon instead pulled out the one that was already in his hand.

"I activate Monster Reborn. This allows me to select one monster in EITHER of our graveyards and add it to my side of the field."

Jon would be lying if he said he did not feel a twinge of satisfaction at seeing the High Sparrow's face morph into one of panic.

As Jon held Monster Reborn up, it briefly glowed black, as if it was actually using dark magic to reach the deceased monster. Then, the card changed appearance. Where once there was a spell in Jon's hand, now there was a level eight monster.

"The monster I choose to resurrect is Majestic Mech Goryu."

Whereas before, the High Sparrow's monsters had glowed into existence, or fallen from the sky, now it arose from the ground.

Everyone felt the very ground shake, and suddenly a golden and white dragon emerged from the ground. But it was clear to everyone that this monster was decayed in several places, though over the next few moments, the most obvious parts faded, returning Goryu to what it looked like in life.

With all 2900 of its attack points.

"I suppose I really should thank you. Majestic Mech Goryu was sent to the graveyard by Celestia's ability. And it was on top of the Graveyard, meaning it was the very last one to be sent." Jon explained. "Don't worry though. He will not be alone. Come forth, Gil Garth!"

A steel armored terror appeared on the field, boasting a modest but impressive 1800 attack points.

"Now then, Majestic Mech Goryu will attack your Celestia!" Jon commanded the undead fairy.

Goryu opened his mouth, and a beam of light, not unlike the one used to destroy Celtic Guardian and Fossil Tusker, came forth and burnt Celestia until only her bleached bones and screams remained.

J: 3300 HS: 5900

"Now then, Gil Garth will attack you directly, and just like Goryu, he will have some aid from the Graveyard, only this time it will be mine. I activate Skill Successor from the Graveyard; this allows me to increase Gil Garth's attack by 800." Jon explained to his opponent.

A spectral figure resembling Canon Soldier appeared behind Gil Garth, before merging into the metallic fiend. Gil Garth ran forward and stabbed the High Sparrow right through the gut. But when he pulled the sword back, the High Septon was almost unharmed, with only a slow bleed coming from the injury.

J: 3300 HS: 3300

"Now then, we are all tied up." Jon said as he ended his turn.

In truth, this was the longest duel Jon ever had where Life Points had stayed practically unchanged from the beginning. Jon had in fact already dealt enough damage to win him a normal duel.

Jon figured that the High Sparrow could not summon a monster strong enough to defeat Goryu without a monster to sacrifice. So, he would either target Gil Garth, or place it in defense mode. Goryu would deal piercing damage due to its effect, and Jon would finally start to take the lead on this duel.

"My turn then." The High Sparrow said as he drew. He then cleared his throat and began to speak.

"I see that these lands are truly vile. To think you would dare to raise the dead over letting them rest. No doubt that move was inspired by some ancient tree worshipping ritual. But it matters not. For now, I shall bring the Light of the Seven to the frozen Hellscape and bring about salvation to those worthy of it. Now, Since I have at least four Lightsworn monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon the monster I just drew. Behold, the representation of the Father himself, Judgement Dragon!"

From his graveyard, four lights shot forth, One Light expanded, taking the shape of wings, another took the form of legs. Connecting the two, a third light shifted into the body of an animal's body. Finally, the fourth light took the form of a dragon skull.

Eventually, the lights faded, and a dragon in the shape of the light stood in its place. This dragon has a bluish white coloring, and while actual dragons were said to be covered in scales, this one had feathers over its body and wings.

And it boasted a grand 3000 Life Points.

"Magnificent is it not? First, I shall activate this spell I kept in my hand for an emergency, Diane Keto the Cure Master. Now, I regain 1000 Life Points, putting me back at 4300. Now then, I shall activate Judgement Dragon's ability. By sacrificing the 1000 Life Points I just gained, Judgement Dragon can destroy every other card on the field, allowing it to attack you directly.

Light poured out of the High Sparrow, and into Judgement Dragon's mouth. Once there was enough, Judgement dragon breathed the light like it was fire.

The light burned Gil Garth into a pile of scrap, and Goryu was immolated from the light, returning to its decaying form before falling on the ground. Lifeless like when it was first summoned. Even the statue that represented Aegis of Gaia was destroyed.

When the field cleared, only Judgement Dragon remained.

J: 3300 HS: 3300

"Well then Bastard, it seems you have been judged and found wanting. Just as most of your kind will be in the coming days." The High Sparrow said, only for stone to rise up and stab him in several places.

J: 3300 HS: 300

Despite himself, a smile appeared on Jon's face. "What? You forgot your Aegis of Gaia gave you Life Points while it was on the field? Now that it is off, you lost them all again." He reminded his opponent.

The High Sparrow freed himself from the spikes of stone. "No matter, Judgement Dragon, attack the Bastard directly!"

Once again, a ball of light grew outside of Judgement Dragon's mouth. Once again it breathed it forward, directly striking Jon.

Jon was briefly reminded of a rumour he had heard about damage in duels with lives at stake. They said that monsters that had the water attribute made you feel either like you were in a downpour or drowning. Fire damage made you feel like you were burnt, Earth like you had been hit in the head by a rock and so on.

This damage from the Light attribute Judgement Dragon left Jon's body almost fully intact, but he felt as though his Soul had been crippled.

J: 300 HS: 300

Jon was having a hard time breathing. There was nothing stopping him per se, just the feeling that it took more energy than it gave him back.

"You see now? How powerless you are in the face of the Seven?" The High Sparrow said with cheers from the other Sparrows joining him.

But Jon was only dimly aware of the cheering crowd behind the High Sparrow.

"I...I take it you...ended your turn." Jon said slowly.

The High Sparrow nodded, sending four cards from his deck to the graveyard, which Jon figured was due to Judgement Dragon's effect. This allowed Jon to begin his turn by drawing.

He looked at the two cards in his hand. The one he drew with Pot of Greed was Berfomet, which was useless right now, with neither enough attack or defense to protect Jon, nor any way to summon it.

'Looks like this one will have to do.' Jon thought as he picked up the just drawn card.

"I set this monster in defense mode and end my turn." Jon said, strength starting to return to him.

"As valiant an effort as possible for a Heathenous Bastard I suppose." The High Sparrow said to the cheers of those behind him.

The High Sparrow drew, and it was clear from his face, that the card was not a monster. If it was, he would have won by simply attacking with both.

"It matters not. Judgement Dragon, destroy this Heathen's last defense, and let the Mother take pity on him, for he never stood a chance in life."

Judgement Dragon opened it may for the third time. It would be the last.

Jon's monster revealed itself. A metal jar with an eye.

Cyber Jar.

Judgement Dragon shot forth the beam of light, only for it to be absorbed into the Jar. Cyber Jar kept sucking it up, and Judgement Dragon itself was pulled into the small jar and destroyed.

"I suppose you were unaware of Cyber Jar's ability. When it is flipped face up, all monsters on the field are destroyed, we both draw five cards, and summon as many monsters as we can from them." Jon explained, picking up the top five cards of his deck and looking at them.

"I set one monster in defense mode. For the others, I summon the following three: Pitch Black Warwolf, Blackland Fire Dragon, and Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts."

The three monsters appeared on the field, fresh and ready for combat.

The High Sparrow accepted the setback and drew five cards as well, though he only summoned two.

"I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress."

A woman in white robes and a blue see through cape appeared on the field. In her hands was a rod of some kind.

And she had 1700 attack points. Enough to take out any of Jon's monsters.

"I also bring back the first casualty of this crusade to the North: The Shining Angel."

Once again, a blond winged man fell from the sky, though he was weaker than any on the field

"As it is still my battle phase, I will continue with combat. Lyla will attack your Gazelle!" The high Sparrow commanded.

Lyla threw the rod at Gazelle, impaling his head before pulling it out of the now dead beast.

J:100 HS: 300

"I shall end the battle phase, but not the turn. For now, I sacrifice both Lyla and Shining Angel, in order to summon my SECOND Majestic Mech Goryu!" The High Sparrow revealed.

Unlike the one Jon summoned from the grave, this Majestic Mech descended from the sky, in all its glory.

And just like the other, it had 2900 attack points. More than enough to take out any of Jon's monsters. And with the ability to do piercing damage, it did not matter if they were switched to defense mode.

"Now then, I end my turn. By all means, take as much time as you need to come to terms with your impending demise. It is more than your ancestors gave ours." The High Sparrow said. For once, he did not have to discard his deck at the end of the turn.

Jon looked at his hand. He still had Berfomet, and he had drawn Card of Sanctity thanks to Cyber Jar, so even if he drew a bad card, he could take a chance and draw some better ones. But there was no singular card that could get him out of it.

'Well, hopefully I bought the reinforcements enough time. They should be on their way here soon.' Jon thought. Even if he dies, which seems very likely at this point, they will not harm the North.

Taking comfort in that thought. Jon breathed to calm himself and drew the top card of his deck.

He looked at it.

It was that card. The one he never was able to play. The one that he had had since the cards first appeared. That Ygritte had asked about before they reached Greywater Watch.

Jon looked at the field. He could actually win this. He never had both this card AND three monsters on the field at the same time. He felt his body fill with the strength Judgement Dragon's attack had taken away.

"Alright then. Listen up. You come here, saying that you will help the people, while also talking about killing plenty of good people. And why? Just because they have a different belief. Well, from what I have seen, you are nothing but a sad old man, who saw his chance to have his life have meaning and took it. And now, you think you can kill us and not be punished? I will not stand for this. It is time to end this." Jon said, yelling with the emotions that he kept inside of himself to try to maintain a calm exterior like his father did. Now it was all letting out.

"Big words from a Bastard with no idea of honor ever shown to him." The High Sparrow retorted.

Jon found himself smiling a bit. Not a large one, but just a small grin. "You may be right. I am a Bastard. I have been chained to that word since before I was old enough to know it. But that does not matter. Today, the fact that I am a Bastard, matters less than this. I am a Northerner. I am the blood of House Stark. And I shall do as my family has done for eight thousand years. Defend the North."

Jon lifted the card in the air. "And to help me, I shall sacrifice both my Blackland Fire Dragon, Pitch Black Warwolf, and my set monster Versago the Destroyer, in order to summon SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!"

Storm clouds gathered, and the three monsters Jon had on the field flew up, turning into light even as the clouds darkened. A roar not heard of in over a century filled the air of the North.

The first thing everyone saw was part of its body, slithering around the clouds like a red and black snake.

Eventually, its body shot down, and wrapped itself around Moat Cailin, but gently enough that it did not break any of the towers.

It raised its head at the army in front of it, allowing everyone to see its face.

It was blood red, with a blue orb on its forehead.

It had 2000 attack points.

"Th-that's it?" The High Sparrow said, fear replaced by a laugh of madness. "It is impressive to be sure, but Goryu still stands stronger by nearly 1000 attack points. All you did was save me the trouble of choosing which monster to attack!"

"Not quite. You see, Slifer can be strong or weak, depending on one factor: My hand. Slifer's attack is always how many cards are in my hand, multiplied by a thousand. So, I will temporarily weaken him, in order to make him more powerful than ever. I play Card of Sanctity! This allows the two of us to both draw until we have six cards in our hand. Raising Slifer's attack from 1000, to 6000!" Jon announced, to the shock of all who heard him, which was a lot, as the wind seemed to carry Jon's voice farther than any would think possible.

"Now then Slifer, Attack his Majestic Mech Goryu, AND END THIS!" Jon yelled.

Slifer obeyed, opening its giant mouth, and unleashing a blast of lightning and flame that put the Lightsworn's beams of light to shame. To say Goryu was struck by the blast would be an understatement. It would be better to say it was swallowed by the blast.

"I-impossible." The High Sparrow said, unable to speak any further than that.

J: VICTORY HS: DEFEAT

"You lost. You said your Judgement Dragon would judge me. Now, it is my monster's turn to judge you. And it has found you guilty. Now then, go meet your gods." Jon said, feeling his body be drained of what little strength he had left.

Slifer opened its mouth again, and blasted the High Sparrow,

Where the leader of the Faith Militant once stood, was nothing but a crater deep enough that the bottom was covered in shadows, even at high noon with the sun directly shining into it.

Jon felt his body start to fall, only to hit something. He barely looked over, and saw Slifer's talon, as it gently guided him to the ground, instead of letting him hit the ground on his own.

"BASTARD!"

Jon looked up and saw a man with a full seven-pointed star scar on his forehead step up.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT BASTARD!" He yelled as he and most of the Faith Militant, angered by the death of their leader, rushed forward, wanting to tear Jon to pieces as he was too injured and weak to cause a duel to occur.

Slifer let out a roar, and its second mouth opened up. Both mouths left out a blast, moving so it hit every foe to approach Jon.

Not even bones or ashes remained of the small army that thought to try to fight the North. Though a few horses were seen bringing their riders south, back into the Neck.

As Jon just tried to stay awake, he felt someone touch his body, and he briefly heard some yelling and saw a flash of red. The last thing he felt before fading into unconsciousness was the vibrations of hoof beats approaching from the North.

AN: So, yeah.

The Mystery card was Slifer the Sky Dragon.

One reviewer actually guessed it back in chapter 2. And some others figured it out later. So, congratulations to all of you.

Also, at over 7000 words, this is the longest Chapter to date. I wanted it to be long but thought I would be lucky to get it to just 6000.

Something I need to say, is that despite this being the end of the Faith Militant, the Sparrows themselves still exist. I have mentioned or hinted at some characters that were not present here, and they are not out of the count just yet.

But for now, The Faith Militant Arc is at an end. The rest of the chapters will be setting up for future events, then I begin work on other stories.

Hope you all stay safe, and feel free to review. This work has a TV Tropes page, and I would welcome any help in expanding it.

See you all next chapter,

Jaehaerys.Joestar


	28. Chapter 28: A Spider's Reach

AN: Sorry for the delay, a combination of family stuff and bad Wifi is to blame.

Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, now let the story continue.

MOAT CAILIN

JON SNOW

Jon felt his consciousness slowly return to him, though it was a struggle to hold onto it for more than a few fleeting seconds. When he did finally manage to awaken, he attempted to get up, only to be pushed back onto the bed.

"Easy there Jon Snow. No one wants you to strain yourself." A quiet voice said from above him.

Jon opened his eyes, and was greeted by a sight he had not expected.

"Lord Bolton?" Jon got out, before losing any ability to move.

"Don't worry Jon, you are perfectly safe." A second voice said from behind Roose Bolton.

Jon managed to turn his eyes and saw the familiar short figure that made up the Lord of the Neck.

"Lord Howland." Jon greeted the man in a whisper..

"Well then, I shall take my leave. I trust you to inform him of everything.." Roose Bolton said to Howland, before turning back to Jon. "I will inform the Maester that you are awake. For now, rest up. We can hardly have the hero of the North hurting himself so soon after he saved us all." He reached into his coat, and pulled out a deck. "The High Sparrow's. Feel free to take anything you want from it."

With that, he walked out of the room. Jon and Howland were now alone, save for a spider in the corner Jon noticed.

Howland eyed the man until he left, letting his shoulders relax once he was out of sight. He then walked over and sat by Jon's side. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Like...My body is a statue, and I can hardly move it." Jon answered after a few moments.

"Yes well, I would expect that after what the others described. Apologies, but I only got here this morning. Now it's about an hour before dinner. I was busy harassing the Faith Militants who tried to regroup the force under them." The lord explained.

Hearing about the Faith Militant reminded Jon about what was going on. "The army stopped them?" He asked.

Howland laughed. "No, the army got there too late. The honor of defeating them goes to you and you alone."

Jon's mind was flooded with memories from the duel. Both Goryus, Judgement Dragon, and finally being able to summon Slifer for the first time.

"I only dueled once. Did they not retaliate?" Jon asked, still a bit shaky on the final few moments before he lost consciousness.

"They tried, but Slifer was still on the field. It protected you. Took out all the ones charging and a few of the slower runners. At least, according to Lord Bolton." Howland explained.

"Lord Bolton was not there." Jon pointed out.

"He spotted the battle when Judgement Dragon was summoned. He was in the Barrowlands discussing his son's possible betrothal opportunities with Lady Dustin. They received the raven I sent and he led the Dustin and Bolton forces to Moat Cailin. Other lords arrived over time, but he and a few other more minor lords were the only one who caught the end of the duel. He saw you summon Slifer and defeat the Sparrows, saw Ygritte trying to keep you awake, and ordered you be looked after." Howland said.

A thought then occurred to Jon. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Three days." Howland explained. "I have to ask, have you ever summoned Slifer before?"

"No. It requires three sacrifices, I never had the chance to." Jon answered.

"Well, I would caution you against using it freely. By the looks of it, you summoning it is what made you pass out. There is still much we do not know about the cards." Howland advised Jon.

"Fair enough." Jon admitted. "What about the others? You mentioned Ygritte."

"Ah yes. The scouts are all fine. As for the Wildings, Dryn is being put to work by some of the men, otherwise he is usually in here. Roose was a bit against them being so close to you, but the other lords pointed out that they are loyal to have stayed by you when it looked like you would die." Howland began to laugh. "Ygritte is somewhere. You should have seen it Jon. One of the soldiers under Roose said something about her not wearing a dress, and she took him out in three turns. Roose actually told the man that it was his own fault for antagonizing her, and apologized to her on his behalf."

"Yeah that sounds about right." Jon said with a bit of a chuckle of his own. "So what now?"

"Now, we are going to stay here until you heal, then I am going to head to Winterfell with you. Lord Bolton and his men will hold the Moat for a few more days, just to make sure the surviving Sparrows, few as they are, have truly flown South. Your father will either meet us on the road or at Winterfell, now that he is done cleaning up White Harbor."

Jon looked at him confused. "What happened in White Harbor?"

Howland looked amused. "Oh right, well it turns out you were not the only ones facing the Sparrows."

WHITE HARBOR

A FEW DAYS AGO

NED

N: 2200 S: 1350

"Now, I equip my Silver Fang with Beast Fang, raising his attack to 1500. And he attacks you directly!" Ned announced as his silver/green wolf jumped at the Septon's throat, tearing it out and making a corpse in mere seconds.

N: VICTOR S: DEFEAT

As Silver Fang faded, Ned walked over the Septon's corpse to the ladies who had been tied up and gagged.

"Don't worry. You're safe now." He said to them.

He began untying them, starting with the mother.

"Your father and uncle are right outside." Ned said, watching the two children rush out to see them, followed by their mother.

It had taken Ned and the Manderly men two days of waiting to receive a message from the Sparrows. They believed Ned was dead, as he had planned, but were upset over the capture of his killer. But soon enough, they had been brought here to an abandoned store whose owner had been one of their first victims. The building had large walls and a back room to act as a large vault. Perfect for keeping hostages.

Once they had been able to enter, Wendel surprised the first guard while Wylis and Ned split up to search the building.

Ned had found a Septon standing guard, revealed himself, and started a duel. The rest was history.

Ned saw the tearful reunion of the Mermen family, his mind flashing to replace Wylla with Arya, and Wynafryd with Sansa, though she was a bit too old.

Ned really needed to return to Winterfell. He had been away far too long.

Soon, the group was on their way back to White Castle.

Once Lord Manderly saw his daughter by law and grandchildren were safe, he and Ned retired to his solar. They were alone save for a spider in the corner. Ned saw the pained look on his bannerman's face.

"Lord Stark. I have no right to ask for forgiveness. We broke the oath. We betrayed you. We betrayed the North. Nothing we can do can fix this." Wyman Manderly said, unable to look Ned in the face.

Ned walked up to the larger man and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Wendel told me the moment we got off the ship. I knew the trap walking into it and was prepared." Ned said.

The Merman lord looked at him in shock. "We both know it is not true."

"You said nothing you can do can fix this. Well, as the wronged party, I say there is something that can count as compensation. And that is for what I just said to be the truth. I know what it is like, to be forced to choose between honor and family." Ned said.

"Ah yes. Well in that case, should young Jon ever search for a bride, well he is about an age with Wylla, or Wynafryd if he desires." Lord Manderley said, seeing which specific family member Ned had previously weighed against his honor.

Ned bit back a laugh. To most people, Wyman's offer was beyond generous. Should Wylis fail to sire a son, which was getting more and more likely by the moon, then Jon would essentially be made Lord of White Harbor by marrying one of the Manderley girls. A better match than any normal Bastard could ever hope to achieve.

"Perhaps, if that is Jon's wish. For now though, let that be the end of it. Tell your family, but afterwards speak no more of it. Let the North stand united, as it is meant to be."

THE NEXT DAY

After resting after such a harrowing experience, Ned was preparing to leave White Castle and see to acquire the horses and supplies needed to get him and his men back to Winterfell, when he was greeted by Wylis Manderly running up to him.

"My Lord, we just received a raven from Greywater Watch. More Sparrows are heading North up the Kingsroad! They likely took Moat Cailin by now."

Ned cursed under his breath. "Gather the men, we must ride to raise the banners immediately. Send word back to Howland and have him do whatever he can to harass them from behind."

Ned ran out to prepare his men. Would he ever get a chance to calm down?

Ned briefly thought of Jon, who was likely on his way back to Winterfell from Greywater Watch.

'Please be safe Jon.' Ned prayed silently.

In a mere few hours, the Northern forces from the Dornish War were riding out again, this time to protect their home and kingdom.

KINGSROAD-BETWEEN THE NECK AND TWINS

TYENE

Tyene had managed to snag a horse and run away from Moat Cailin as soon as she saw the High Sparrow get incinerated.

Originally, the plan had been simple. Roughly five thousand Faith Militants had gathered at the Twins and the surrounding land. From there, they would depart in groups of a few hundred at a time to march North. They had hoped that going in smaller groups would allow them to traverse the Neck quicker than leaving all at once. And it had worked to some extent.

The Crannogmen had been a problem, with their hidden traps and surprise attacks causing panic and pushing people into the bogs, never to be seen again.

Tyene's group had successfully made it out, and waited with the groups ahead to see how many had survived.

Luckily, most of the horses had somehow made it out, and they decided to double up on them in order to escape quicker.

Roughly half their force, about twenty five hundred militants, had made it out of the Neck and were in the north. They had traveled up the Kingsroad, only to see the advanced force, led by the High Sparrow himself, had stopped at Moat Cailin.

There, one of the others had explained to her that the High Sparrow was about to win against Ned Stark's Bastard.

And then that...Thing was called to the field.

Tyene had to fight against her body's base instinct to flee and hide like a mere animal. And even then she just barely held out. But when it attacked, killing the High Sparrow, and then killing everyone else, she gave into her fear and fled as fast as she could. A handful of smarter members joined her, but they lost sight of each other in the bogs of the Neck.

'The Faith Militant is done for. Half of our numbers wiped out in one duel, and the other half is without a leader. Should I head back to the Twins and warn them of what happened? Perhaps I could convince them to...No, sending them to Dorne would do nothing but restart a war we are unprepared for. Most of them will likely believe that they must go North to avenge the High Sparrow. The few I could convince anyway would be too small to make much of a difference by themselves.' Tyene thought, trying to figure out what to do.

She eventually saw a group on the Kingsroad. 'Those must be the back half of the forces who had yet to cross.' She thought to herself. She kicked her horse to hurry up and approached her temporary allies.

However, as she got closer, she realized the group was strange. They were all on horses like her, but the Faith had been traveling with a mix of foot and horse. Also, they all wore armor. They could be just Warrior's Sons, but to go without any Poor Fellows, especially since they outnumbered the Warrior's Sons, made no sense.

She soon had her answer as she slowed down a few feet from a tree with a spider web on it.

"In the name of King Robert and House Tully, surrender! We have already retaken the Twins! Surrender and you may live." One voice called out as the group began to circle her. Their horses were less exhausted and they managed to surround her before she could escape.

"We got another one Edmure." One of them, whose armor was decorated with the colors of House Blackwood said.

"Not just any Sparrow." The leader of this group said. "I recognise her from when Father tried to have me get Arriane Martell's hand last year. This is Tyene Sand, daughter of Oberyn Martell."

SUNSPEAR

GEROLD DAYNE

"Thank you Maester, but I assure you, my arm is as good as the old one." Gerold said with a kind smile as he left the Maester's rooms.

As the temporary head of House Dayne, until young Edric reached manhood, Gerold was one of the most important lords in Dorne. As such, he had been invited to Sunspear to help young Trystane rule. Doran and the young prince would be arriving soon, but Doran would be expected to leave for the Wall in a year's time.

Until then, Gerold, Lord Anders Yronwood, and Trebor Jordayne would be forming a small council to govern and aid in rebuilding Dorne.

The war may have pushed Dorne to the edge, but personally it had done wonders for Gerold's standing. He had lost an arm trying to defend Prince Quentyn from the Ironborn. Thankfully, he had enough cards to regain Life Points that an entirely new arm sprouted out of his stump. It felt just as good as the old one. Also, the burning of Starfall meant his seat of High Hermitage gained control of all the surrounding lands. Once Dorne was back to normal, Gerold would see a great increase in tax revenue.

Shaking himself out of his musings for the time being, Gerold returned to the rooms House Martell had provided him. He had work to do.

Once inside, he locked the door. He grabbed the sleeve of his other arm and pulled it back. On his arm, a purple tattoo of a spider began to slowly appear. This tattoo, a Dark Mark, was the key to his conquest.

'Varys calls himself the Spider, but I rule over all of them.' Darkstar thought with a grin.

He remembered briefly how he had gained this power. He had burned himself accidentally on the same day the cards appeared. He thought nothing of it besides how strange the shape was. Then came the dreams, and he learned just what power had been gifted to him.

Unfortunately, his true self was much less productive than his public persona. In fact, he had actually had to deal with a string of failures recently.

Not to say that he was completely incompetent. He had learned of Oberyn's plans to kill the Mountain. The night before he left for the Westerlands, Darkstar was at Sunspear for some other business and actually managed to get drunk with Oberyn. Then it was just a matter of turning the conversation to Elia, always a simple task since Oberyn loved his sister. Darkstar brought up that she was literally given to a man with a bunch of dogs for a sigil. He then made a comment that so long as Tywin lived, he could just get a new pup to replace the dead Clegane. More wine and talk like that and he saw that he had manipulated Oberyn into changing his target. One look at the glowing tattoo, and Oberyn forgot he had a drinking companion, and thought going after Tywin was the plan all along.

From there, it went how he figured it would go. Sure there were a few things like War Mode that had been surprising- for reasons different than it being a surprise to everyone- but that just opened Starfall up for the taking. From there, he managed to convince an Ironborn noble he had befriended a few years ago over drinks that he could help them make a name for themselves. Quentyn had to die of course, the man had seen Darkstar's true colors. And Archie was back out of his control, but luckily his memory was so messed up he did not know the truth.

Darkstar then reminded himself to keep an eye on the Ironborn as a whole. He felt a sensation from his tattoo warning him that they were not to be messed with. At least just yet. They had their own plans. And he felt a chill run down his arm when he thought about messing with them any more than necessary.

Darkstar had then learned about the gathering of the royal army at Sand Hill. One little conversation with his partner, and they managed to get the order to attack sent. Now House Martell was weaker than it had ever been in the last century.

But that was where his luck began to run out.

Darkstar was no idiot. He could not do everything by himself. But finding more allies was proving to be difficult, even with his powers. He had one ally, who was more mysterious than Darkstar would have prefered. He knew they were a man, and where he was, as it was through him that the Breaking of Sunspear was possible, but he kept his identity hidden from him for now, saying he would reveal himself when their ranks had grown from just the two of them. Darkstar had been on the lookout ever since.

In terms of possible allies, he had a few lined up, but some were proven to be better pawns or complete failures.

First, there was Viserys Targeryean. He felt the man's mind weaken as his despair grew. But when he witnessed his duel against the two assassins, something pushed his influence away before he could offer Viserys the power to win. Since then he was unable to spy on the exiled prince. Almost as though he was blind to him. He briefly thought about going after Princess Danaerys instead, but her mind had no cracks to slip through. She was too sheltered. She had not had enough stress or loss recent enough for him to exploit. So House Targeryean was out.

He then considered recruiting a disgraced Priestess from Ashai who had fled from some trouble in Volantis. It was easy enough to speak to her through the flames, turning them purple like the spider on his arm, but she was TOO pliant. She obeyed well enough, but Darkstar doubted she could lead like he could. Having served her purpose on Dragonstone, he had commanded her to go into hiding with her allies until the time was right.

There were some others that had potential, and so he kept them in the back of his mind. Edmure Tully held little respect in the Riverlands. It could be simple enough to corrupt him. There was Willas Tyrell. He was politically weakened for his inaction in the War, and saddened by his friend's death. Paxter Redwyne was an emotional mess who might make a good pawn as well.

Darkstar had also hoped that the Sparrows may cause enough chaos in the North to allow him to turn at least one of the Northerners, but whatever happened at Moat Cailin put an end to it. Looks like he had to trust that his partner could get that squire he mentioned as a possible ally to turn, though from what he had heard, the boy was more likely a tool than a player.

But for now, there was one possible ally who was ripe for the picking. He only needed to wait for him to come by. He should be arriving in Dorne any day. Assuming the Old Lion kept his word to the king.

Deciding it was time to look around, Darkstar's tattoo glowed as he used his power. His sight shifted from his rooms in Sunspear to a tree in the northern Riverlands.

He crawled over the web, and there he saw a familiar face.

'Tyene Sand. Interesting to see you so far north. Will you prove to be a possible pawn as well?' He thought as he watched the Sand Snake from inside the spider in the tree. Upon seeing her become surrounded, he shifted his sights onto others. He took as great an interest in the room of the one who defeated the Sparrows as he did in White Harbor a few days ago.

After watching them for a while, he changed his view. He saw through the eyes of one spider, which was witnessing Melisandre and two others worship a fire, hoping for him to speak through as he had before.

'Ah, so that is where you have gone. That reminds me…' Gerold thought upon seeing where they were. He then turned his sights on the one charged with hunting her. Some small landed knight who used to be a smuggler. Daven, he thought the name was.

'Luckily, even on a ship there were plenty of spiders to look through.' He thought as he listened to one of the crew talk with Daven about where they were headed.

Gerold frowned. They were actually getting close to Melisandre, and while she was only a small part in the grand scheme, she still had her use.

'I really hate doing this, but it appears to be necessary.' Gerold thought as he took out his deck and pulled out Giant Trunade, Heavy Storm and Mystical Space Typhoon. He concentrated on his tattoo. It glowed with power, and then faded away. No sign his arm had ever had a mark on it.

In truth, he hated using it in such ways. Sure, it was perhaps the strongest ability given to him, but he could only use it sparingly. He guessed based on past uses that his tattoo would take half a moon to reappear, such was the amount of power required to bring those cards to life outside of War Mode. But it was necessary. Now his tools were safe for the time being.

Yes, he just had to wait. And then everything would be his.

AN: Another chapter done, and more is revealed.

Dark Signer Gerold Dayne has played a large part in the Dornish War, both gaining power for himself and destabilizing the region. But he is not alone. Who is this partner he mentioned, and who else will fall and join them as Dark Signers?

Melisandre is also revealed to be a pawn, mistaking his corrupting influence for R'hllor.

With that revelation out of the way, Jon wakes up and is being hailed as a hero, Ned saves the Manderlay women and then rushes to defeat an already defeated army, and Tyene is captured for her membership in the Sparrows.

Next chapter will have a bit of a timeskip. Not long, just enough for Jon to get back to Winterfell and news of the Sparrows defeat to reach King's Landing.


	29. Chapter 29: Reward, Consequence, Prize, Gift

AN: second to last chapter before break. Hope you all enjoy it.

WINTERFELL-LORD'S SOLAR

NED

Ned Stark was at a complete loss of what to say or do.

On the one hand, he had practically jumped for joy upon hearing that the Faith Militant had been pushed back at Moat Cailin. The fact that the High Sparrow had been killed meant that they had fled in disarray. It was the best case scenario Ned could have hoped for.

How he learned of it, was a bit more sour to him though.

He had been riding straight for Winterfell, believing that Robb was too young to lead in such a time of crisis, only to see his eldest son and Theon lead a force made of Stark and Umber as well as several other houses down south on the Kingsroad, ready to meet their newest enemy. Ned took charge, but they stopped for the night at castle Cerwyn, where Ned contemplated ordering Robb back to Winterfell, only for the Maester to receive a raven with the seals of both House Reed and Bolton, explaining that the battle was won.

Just as the men cheered at that, the Maester mentioned WHO was this great Northern hero that everyone wanted to thank.

And it was Jon.

Jon, who he had sworn to protect, had fought off an entire army, with less than ten people with him.

He simultaneously wanted to tell Jon how proud he was, and lock him in a cell just so he never does such a foolish thing again.

He had been shaken out of his shock by the Greatjon's arm hitting him on the back. "Well isn't that great Ned! These green southerners are no match for even one of us, no matter the numbers."

That had led to great cheers from the men, and a celebratory feast for the men at Castle Cerwyn. Ned had to remember to repay Jonelle for that.

Now though, Jon and Howland would be here in a few hours. Robb had already rode out to see Jon early.

Robb had done better than Ned had initially thought he would. And when it looked like the North was in danger, he prepared to face it head on. Still though, the thought of Robb rushing off to fight was one that filled Ned's heart with dread. A feeling he was sure that Cat shared, even if she knew that Robb had to lead in his absence. He would make a fine lord when his time came.

Upon returning to Winterfell, he had ensured that arrangements were made for all the men who had rode out to defend the North. Then he saw his family.

Sansa greeted him with all the courtesy expected of a Lady, while Arya- who for some reason was covered in dirt and mud- did not give much thought into jumping right into him, sending them both to the ground laughing. Bran had run out and immediately asked him about the heroes of the war, whose deeds had made their way this far North. Ned promised to sit down with him and explain who did what in every battle he knew of later. Rickon had been the same energetic child as when he left, though getting him to let go of Ned's leg took a good part of the hour.

Cat was both shocked and relieved to see him, as was expected. Just the day before she had watched her first born ride off to war, and now she watched her son and husband return safely.

And now, any moment a guard would walk into the solar to announce that Jon was returning.

Today, his pack would be restored.

But he saw it differently than he had before leaving.

Robb and Jon could hardly be considered pups, and Sansa was also growing into a young lady. His family was starting to grow up. Before long he would be thinking the same about Arya and Bran.

Ned remembered what Wyman Manderly had said about being willing to give one of his granddaughters to Jon. But with Jon being hailed as a hero, that went from a willful lowering of standards to a great honor.

In a way, this was the best thing that could have happened to Jon.

Ned realized that he had to begin thinking about his children's futures soon. He had put it off because of how his own father's plans had led to disaster. But it was still a duty he had to perform. Ned briefly remembered planning what to give each of his children, and realized this was the perfect chance.

Like expected, there was a knock on the Solar's door. Ned had been in thought for longer than he had thought. He stood up, and went to greet and reward Jon.

WINTERFELL

JON

There were cheers as they rode through Winter Town, which was currently filled with soldiers from some of the largest houses in the North.

Despite riding next to them, the cheers were not for Howland, or any of the minor lords who accompanied them. They were not even for Robb, who led the march like an honor guard.

They were for him.

If he had time to think about how he would act in this situation, he would have thought it would be triumphant, with himself basking in the glory of being cheered at. Now, all he was focusing on was not falling off his horse and making these cheers turn to laughter. Even now days later, he was still a bit tired from the duel.

Of course, there was another reason for him to be distracted from the current journey.

SEVERAL DAYS AGO-JON'S ROOM IN MOAT CAILIN

Jon had finally started to regain his strength after the duel. It had taken a while, but he could walk on his own without it becoming a daunting task. Soon, they would be leaving Moat Cailin to bring him to Westeros.

It was ironic. Jon left as an honor guard for some guards bringing Sam to Winterfell, and now he was returning with a grander honor guard of his own, who kept speaking of his protection of the North.

Apparently, they had all heard his impassioned speech before summoning Slifer, which resulted in some embarrassment from him. But they mainly spoke of how he had declared himself the judge and killed so many criminals that threatened the North.

Now, Jon had no issue with killing, or so he thought. Being brought to an execution was probably one of Jon's oldest memories. But watching a killing, and doing one himself-or assisted by a giant dragon- was more different than one thought.

Jon would not say that he pitied them, they had marched knowing they would kill and harm his home. They got what they deserved. But still, there was a part of him that feared himself. Perhaps it was due to the sheer number.

Over two thousand dead. Had any executioner taken that many lives? Had any single person done so in the time since the dragons died out?

"Oi! Jon Snow." A voice called out by the door.

Jon ended his introspection, and turned, seeing Ygritte standing right in the door.

"Sorry. Did I miss something?" Jon asked.

"You know nothing Jon Snow. I said that we were gonna be starting to get ready to leave here tomorrow." Ygritte said as she walked in. "What were you thinking about?"

Jon honestly did not know how to respond. After a few moments, he figured the best way was to ask a question of his own.

"Ygritte... Have you ever killed anyone yourself?" Jon asked.

"Yeah. Tons." Ygritte said bluntly.

'Oh, right. Free Folk.' Jon's brain reminded him. It was kill or be killed North of the Wall. One of the reasons most of the hostages for the village were children who still had parents that protected them. So they would be safer than if they stayed.

"How many?" Jon asked.

"I never kept track. Anyone who wanted me that I didn't like. A few that I grew to hate. Some just in a regular fight, either started by them or by me. Does it matter the number? I ain't your sister Sansa, with her pretty dresses and swooning over stories of men who are idiots. And I like her more, but I ain't little Arya who acts like she has it tough but lives better than anyone I had ever met before. I know what the world is like. You're either a killer, dead, or incredibly lucky. That is how it is." Ygritte explained.

"So what? You think I am the same person I was before?" Jon asked.

"Ah, that's what got your mind all empty then? You think you changed, that you should be feared? Let me tell you something, I have seen things that would make your southern spine jump out of your body to try to run away. Besides, it was technically your monster." Ygritte said, leaning against the wall of his room.

"True." Jon said, only partially moved from his mindset. Which apparently Ygritte noticed.

She let out a sigh, then went to close the door, adding a chair to keep it closed.

"What are you…" Jon said only to be interrupted.

"You need to get your mind off of all this death and fear. And I know from experience that this is the best way to do so." Ygritte said as she began to take off her clothes.

Jon's mind began to go from clouded by his thoughts to blank very quickly.

"Are you… I mean you sure about…" Jon began to stammer out.

"Just shut up and get started Jon. I admit I was wondering if you were as good with a woman as you were with your cards." Ygritte said as she stood naked.

Jon had no memory of taking his own clothes off. But their presence on the floor suggested he did take them off.

Several hours later, and Dryn was the unfortunate one who managed to force the door open. He quickly excused himself, but they heard him laugh from outside.

PRESENT

And that was the story of how Jon laid with a woman for the first -and so far only- time.

Dryn managed to keep quiet. Whether that was because he was their friend or Ygritte threatened him, Jon had no desire to find out. Either way, it appeared that no one knew about it. Which gave Jon some time to think about it.

Needless to say, he much preferred thinking about this over the Sparrows.

As they rode into the courtyard of Winterfell, Jon saw that his family was all together. Each with a smile, ranging from the honest joy of a child from Rickon, to the polite but strained smile of lady Catelyn. Even Sam was to the side, standing next to Gilly as usual.

Jon jumped off his horse, and walked over to his family.

Ned stood in front, watching him approach before deciding to walk up and meet Jon halfway. Before he knew it, Jon was embraced in a hug by his father.

Arya, Bran and Rickon took the opportunity to run up and hug him as well.

There were more cheers from the surrounding Northerners for a good amount of time. Jon even saw Dryn standing next to his father Tormund as they embraced.

Once everything was settled, Ned's lord voice began to speak.

"Jon. You have performed a service to the North. One that can not be underestimated. Without any concern for your own life, fully expecting that you would have to lay down your life for it, you protected the North. You protected all of us. It is easy for a man to boast that he will protect something until he dies, but another thing entirely to have death stare him in the face and fulfill that boast. You did so without claiming any such boast. You simply did as you thought was right." Ned said for all to hear. He then looked Jon in the eye and put his arm upon his shoulder.

"Jon Snow, in order to prevent anything like this from happening again, I plan on repairing Moat Cailin to its former glory, and as a reward for your actions, I name you the Lord of Moat Cailin."

Jon was frozen. He was not expecting this. Honestly it felt as though someone else did what he did. But here he was, being given a reward for his actions. He had dreamed of it in the past, but those dreams were of being legitimized. He knew Ned could not do it without the King's approval, but this was entirely in his power.

Jon realized he should probably speak. "I-I am honored Father."

Ned turned to address everyone else. "The Kitchens have been preparing for a celebration of this victory. Let us all do such!" He exclaimed, to which the Great Jon roared and everyone hurried over to the Great Hall. Lady Catelyn took his siblings save for Robb, who stood next to him congratulating his half brother. Ygritte and Sam stood back, but were with them as well.

'And now I wake up.' Jon thought to himself.

He did not.

RIVERRUN

EDMURE TULLY

Edmure rode into his childhood home, leading a procession of prisoners.

He had been experiencing a string of good luck of late, ever since he decided to hunt down the Sparrows with other heirs and knights. They had met little resistance on the road until they reached the Twins. There they had been shocked to learn about the fates of Walder Frey and his brood, but as few of the Sparrows had any knowledge on warfare, they ended up turning on each other inside the Twins. This allowed Edmure and some others to sneak in and take out the leaders, forcing the others to surrender.

During interrogation they learned about the march North, but Edmure and his crew were better rested and all mounted. They rode forth, only to find stragglers heading north or ones retreating south. Apparently some Northerners had been enough to repel these birds.

Now here he was, returning home triumphant, and with a surprising prisoner. One of the Sand Snakes. That was a surprise. But he supposed it made sense in hindsight. Revenge for her family and all that. But now it was too late. He was unsure if Robert would let her head back to Dorne or not. Until then he was keeping her prisoner, just like the other Sparrows.

As they entered the courtyard of Riverrun, Edmure was greeted with faces he had known his entire life. Most were happy to see him and cheering for him and his men. Others, especially among the older servants, or those who dealt with his father were looking at him more warily.

Edmure had expected that, at least partially. He had directly disobeyed his father. There were bound to be consequences.

Edmure dismounted his horse and began to walk up to his father's room before Ser Desmond could order him to, though the old knight was walking towards him to do so.

He entered the room just as Maester Vyman was helping Father back into his own bed. The look of disappointment and anger aimed at his son was evident.

'Even now, no pride for the family hero.' Edmure thought. He knew he and his father did not have the best relationship, but would it kill the old trout to at least view him as more than an overgrown babe?

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" Hoster asked.

"I did my duty to the Riverlands and the people, as I have since you became too ill to do so yourself." Edmure replied stiffly.

"Duty? You have divided us. Now everyone knows how disobedient you are. Your rule will be marred by this. You think you earned praise from those illiterate masses? All anyone who matters will remember is that you can not follow orders, no matter how simple they may be." Hoster shouted back.

"Tell me that this was not simply a test for me." Edmure said. "Your inaction has shown everyone that House Tully has weakened. You once put a village of House Goodbrook to the sword for defiance against you. But now you decide to just let the Sparrows infest the Riverlands and make it their home? Someone had to stop them, they killed Walder Frey and all his kin, those who did not join at least."

"The killing of the Late Lord Frey should have earned them a pardon, not a death." Hoster replied, more honesty in his voice than Edmure was comfortable with. "Do you really think those Sparrows were such a threat? They were pushed back by the North. In the end they were no threat, and all you did was beat an already whipped dog."

Edmure starred at his father. "What happened to you? You have been different since you fell sick, but this is farther than I have ever seen you. Ever since the Sparrows appeared you have been more ambivalent about your duties. No, even before that…" Edmure said, beginning to think back.

Edmure's eyes widened with realization. "The Cards. You have been growing more like this since we learned everything about The Cards. You always enjoyed the chaos of battle, but The Cards make hunting criminals more organized. You no longer care for fighting because you think it would be more boring than before." He realized and let out a laugh.

His father always spoke of the glory of battle, of how great it felt to hear his enemies scream. Now that he could not experience it because of his illness, he was less willing to do his duty. And now that the Cards replaced violence in all but war, he had even less motivation.

Edmure walked up to his father's bed, and looked him in the eye. "The world has changed. We have to change with it, else be left behind. That is what you said when you joined the Rebellion, and it is just as true now."

Without looking back, Edmure walked out even as Hoster screamed for him to return. Soon those screams turned to coughs, and Maester Vyman was too preoccupied caring for the lord to care about the heir's departure.

'Mayhaps I shall head off to Saltpans or somewhere. A tour of the Riverlands to assure the Smallfolk that House Tully will be more active now.' Edmure mused to himself as he walked.

KING'S LANDING-SMALL COUNCIL CHAMBER

ROBERT

"So that is it then? The Sparrows are disbanded?" Renly asked.

Just a few days ago, they received a raven from the Riverlands that The Twins had been taken by the Sparrows. Today they had just received a pair of ravens, both from the North and the Riverlands, stating that the Sparrows had attempted to strike at the North, only to be repelled and captured as they retreated. The High Sparrow, whoever he was, had been killed in the only battle of the invasion. And it was apparently Ned's Bastard that did him and most of his followers in.

"Remind me to send a raven legitimizing the boy to Winterfell." Robert said with a whistle when he heard it.

"Not quite. There are still reports of various Sparrows or their followers causing trouble throughout the kingdoms. But without the High Sparrow to guide them or give them common cause, they will either fragment into separate factions, or go into hiding until people forget they were a part of the Sparrows." Jon Arryn summarized.

"What do we know of where the rest of them are?" Stannis asked, causing everyone to turn to Varys.

The Spider looked at the map on the table, and stood so he could reach it more easily.

"The North is essentially free. Not only was the army repelled, but White Harbor, which was where the Sparrows could most likely sneak in in smaller numbers was recently purged of the few who were there when they tried to capture the Manderly women. My birds only gave me the basic idea though, but we can likely say none are North of the Neck. The Riverlands have captured or killed most, if not all of the Sparrows there. The Vale had a decent amount of Sparrows at first, but the terrain caused them to split into smaller groups, which made them easy targets for the Mountain Clans. Saying there are more than a few dozen in The Vale might be too generous. Lord Tywin has been harsh to any he finds in the Westerlands. In fact, besides the North, they have had the fewest issues with them. The Iron Islands had a few Sparrows try to get in through Harlaw, but they were repelled and drowned before my Birds even got word to me. The Crownlands have a few pockets, as we discussed last meeting, but none to be too worried about. And Dorne is in no condition to ally with them. Adding in Dorne's unique standards to life, there may be some but not many. In fact I would think most would have been killed in the War." Varys took a breath. Understandable, since the next two were the most tricky.

"The Reach has an...interesting relationship with the Sparrows. Considering the late Mace Tyrell died to one of them, they are hated by most of the nobility. For whatever faults Lord Willas has had, letting them travel with impunity is not one of them. They are hunted everywhere rumors of one appear. But, with Oldtown being so significant to the Faith, there are many cases where Septons or Septas have been accused falsely of being Sparrows and punished. As for the Stormlands, ever since the Westerland soldiers aided in suppressing them at the beginning of the war, they have been relatively fine. One or two attacks every once in a while when they grow bold, but not as bad as the Riverlands were."

Robert noted that Renly seemed to shrink in his seat at being reminded that his kingdom was in danger and he was unaware of it.

"And what of the Twins?" Robert asked.

"Most of them have surrendered, though there was a handful that put up a fight. Once they realized their best duelists had left, they realized they likely had little chance against lords who could buy better cards." Varys explained.

"I told you that money is important." Baelish said with a chuckle.

"And what are we to do with the ones who surrendered?" Jon Arryn brought up.

"Death for any who refuse to take the Wall for the men, the women can become Silent Sisters. They won't be able to plot treasons when they have no tongues to persuade others to their cause." Renly said, as if it was obvious.

"We cannot do that so easily." Stannis said. "Even taking the women out of the question, the number of surrendered Sparrows is almost double that of the Night's Watch's entire force. Should they plot treason again, they would easily overpower the Watch, and be able to cause chaos in a land they already care nothing for."

"Then for now we will simply have to hold them prisoner. Separate them into castles throughout Westeros, so that any escapes from one will not be enough to cause the same amount of trouble as before." Robert said. The council nodded to this idea.

"In any case, it appears that not a single member of House Frey survived. Even the direct families of the Faith Militant members were killed. The ones loyal to the Sparrows were among those killed in the North." Stannis said, reading the messages.

"So, The Twins is without a family to hold it?" Renly asked.

"Not true. Tywin's sister is married to a Frey, is she not?" Baelish reminded everyone.

"Actually, she is freshly widowed. Apparently Emmon Frey was visiting his father when the Sparrows took the castle." Varys revealed.

"The Sparrows are lucky they headed North instead of West. They were spared the lion's wrath." Jon Arryn said. Everyone nodded at that.

"As for his children, Ser Cleos and his brothers are alive. I suppose he is the new Lord of the Twins." Stannis said.

"No."

Everyone turned to look at Robert.

"Are we missing something Your Grace?" Varys asked.

"This is a rare opportunity we have here. We just had to deal with a war, a months long series of religiously motivated attacks, and we still need to keep Dragonstone underwraps for as long as possible and Pycelle still has no idea what happened." Robert said, standing up.

"We need something to get the people's minds off of everything. And now we have the perfect chance."

Robert grinned at the thought of his own idea. "We shall host a tournament. Everyone who wishes to compete shall gather in King's Landing. We can even have jousts and archery like a regular one, but this time they shall not be the main event."

"Are you seriously suggesting that the Lordship of The Twins be decided by whoever wins the tournament?" Stannis asked, obviously getting annoyed by Robert's idea. They may have settled most of their issues, but they still butted heads every once in a while.

"No actually. I am suggesting that the Lordships of The Twins be decided by whoever wins the tournament." Robert revealed. "One shall get the Northern castle, the other will receive the Southern castle. If an heir or lord with their own keep wins, then they can choose another to have it in their stead."

Unable to talk Robert out of it, the Small Council had no choice but to agree to begin preparations.

After the meeting, Stannis met with Robert in a side room, ready to chew him out.

"Before you say anything, know that there is more behind my plans for this tournament than boredom." Robert said.

Stannis held back. "Explain then." He ordered his king.

Robert sighed. "Yes, technically Ser Cleos should get The Twins the normal way. However, according to Varys, the man has never been trained to lead, and if he did rule it, Tywin would rule it in truth. And gain all the revenue that the bridge makes in tolls."

"So that is your plan? Have someone else take it so Tywin doesn't fill his coffers more?" Stannis asked.

"I would prefer his coffers do get filled by The Twins, but as payment." Robert revealed.

Stannis stopped. He took a breath to understand what Robert was saying.

"So that is the plan. Have someone loyal to us win, and have them give us the money to get out of the debt to the Lannisters."

"Aye. With the High Septon agreeing to lower our debt to them in recompense for failing to reign in the Sparrows, Tywin remains the one we owe the most debt to, even with the reduction to it negotiated during the war. If this plan works, we may be able to fully pay him back before he dies. We went from owing six million Gold Dragons to just under two million in just under a year. Now we have a chance to finish that debt off. Then it is just the Iron Bank and more minor houses." Robert explained.

Stannis raised no further objection to that. "So, you have someone loyal in mind?"

"That is where it gets tricky." Robert said. "You and I are both entering. As are Renly and however many others I can get. But we will be more like mystery knights until the end. Best to avoid accusations that it was all planned out."

Stannis seemed to think for a moment. "Gendry?" He asked.

"...Yes. Him too. I doubt he will, but if by some miracle he does win, then he can be recognized and Tywin would not risk assassinating him. The Twins can not raise enough forces themselves for anyone to think they can put Gendry on the throne and stand a chance against Tywin. Right now his only protection is his anonymity, which, let's face it, is very weak after every major lord who needs metal work done sees him at the smithery." Robert revealed.

"It's risky." Stannis warned his brother and king. "Some third party could easily win the whole thing."

"Perhaps, but better than Tywin gaining even more power and leaving us weaker. At least if a third party wins then Tywin's influence will not grow." Robert said, ending their discussion.

Within a half moon, ravens were flying out to every keep, telling them to notify every town.

For just three Gold Dragons, anyone could have the chance to be a lord.

?- - ?

DAVOS SEAWORTH

Davos slowly opened his eyes and caught the blazing sun burning his eyes.

"Careful now. You shouldn't move too much just yet." A voice spoke.

Davos turned around. There was a man wearing white robes of some kind tending to a fire. He had his back to Davos, but he pointed to the left. Davos turned around and saw his Ship, Black Betha out at sea, its shape barely recognizable from this distance.. "I take it, that is yours?" the robed man asked.

Davos looked around him and realized he was on an island. Not a large one, but it was basically the size of the Dragonstone Keep, and had a few trees and plants growing around it, likely nuts and seeds dropped by birds, that was usually how such islands had plants.

"What happened? Where am I?" Davos asked, his throat parched.

"You would know that better than me. I just know that you were in the sea, so I went in, grabbed you and brought you here to see if you lived. Congratulations on that." The robed man threw another branch at the fire. "Might I ask what you are doing here?"

Davos tried to recall what had happened. It slowly came back to him.

Storm Clouds. Violent waves. Almost as if there was a face in the storm. A flash of lightning lighting the mass aflame. A purple flame.

"Something strange happened. I have spent most of my life on the sea, I have never seen a storm like that." Davos said.

"Oh? What was so different about this one?" His savior asked.

"It… It surrounded us. We saw it ahead of us, and I ordered we move to avoid it, but then another storm started from behind us. Then more storms to the sides. It was as if the storm had specifically trapped us in the eye, and then I fell while trying to help save the ship." Davos said.

"Huh. I suppose you are right. That is a strange storm. But it has passed now. What are you going to do once you are back on your ship?" The Robed man asked.

Davos had a strange feeling about this man, but he had saved his life. He may as well know. "I was sent on a mission for the Royal Family of Westeros. I must hunt down a suspected criminal. There were rumours of them being in Essos, so I was heading there."

The Robed man stood and stared out at the ocean. "I see. Well then I wish you-" He stopped talking as a glow was lit from under his robe.

He turned his head to look at it. "Really? Him? Well you know better than me I suppose."

He reached into his robe and threw something at Davos, who barely managed to catch it.

Davos looked at the object, it no longer glowed, but it did gleam in the sunlight.

It was pure gold, and was circular, with a solid triangle fitting inside of it. On the outside were several pieces that reminded Davos of something called a Wind Chime that he had seen in Essos. But the object's most defining feature was undoubtedly the eye in the center of the triangle.

"What is this?" Davos asked.

"You are looking for something. So was I, many years ago. I thought I could find it, but instead I found that and several other things just like it. For whatever reason, I would recommend you keep it. If you need to find something, just think of it, and it will lead you to it. Well Davos, it was nice meeting you. I rarely see my fellow Westerosi anymore. But now I should be going. By the looks of it, your crew finally noticed the fire and are heading this way."

Davos looked around. "Wait, when did I tell you my name? And where is your boat? And if you saved me, why are your clothes so dry?" Davos asked, realizing that not everything was right.

The Robed man turned around, and Davos got a look at his face. Davos was reminded of something, as though he had seen this face or one very much like it recently.

"Don't worry about that Davos. As for how I knew who you are, well…" He held out another golden item, this one lacking an eye or any other markings, instead being just a large key. "Let's just say I can learn a lot about someone by unlocking their mind. If you ever see my family again, tell them I said hi."

With that, the robed man walked away from the fire, and the smoke obscured his body from Davos' sight until he was completely gone, as though he had never been there.

Davos looked at the strange thing in his hand. He had no idea what to call it, but he remembered the man's words about finding things. Thinking of Melisandre and her crimes, he saw the outside pieces start to move, as though a breeze was blowing them all in the same direction. Judging from the sun, it was telling him to go east.

Davos stood up, and waited for his ship to reach him. He had a job to do.

AN: second to last chapter done until Hiatus.

I was originally going to write about the Storm that Davos got stuck in, but I could not make it work and have no knowledge of what to do on a medieval ship during a storm.

Same thing with the Jon and Ygritte scene. I do not trust my ability to write romance, so I just try to keep it in the background, but they have now had sex. Jon and Ygritte were always a personal favorite.

Otherwise:

Ned and Jon both reflect on what has happened. Ned rewards Jon with his own keep. I will go more into just what Jon has in the next chapter.

Edmure confronts his father over his failure to fulfill his duties. Reading some quotes, I think it was clear that Hoster was fairly bloodthirsty, and he would be disappointed by the loss of violence in with the new rules.

Robert sets the impetus for the next Arc. A tournament Arc. Actual name pending.

Davos meets a mysterious stranger and gets the Millenium Ring. What better object to give someone hunting for a criminal than one that literally points to what you want.

Next chapter will be the last one for a while. It will mainly be different characters reacting to news of the Tournament and deciding to go or stay. It will probably have the most POVS of any chapter, but they will be relatively short. Though it will have an epilogue to leave you off with.

QUESTION: I asked this before but no one responded. Would you like me to continue this in the same fanfic, or would you prefer I end this and open up with a Book 2?

Hope you all stay safe in these times. Good luck with all your issues.


	30. Chapter 30: Preparing For the Tournament

AN: Here we are, last chapter for awhile. Hope you all read my others stories to pass the time!

It was neck and neck at first, but continuing this fic won in a landslide practically. Thanks to everyone who voted.

THE NORTH-WINTERFELL

SAMWELL

When he had first set out to join the Night's Watch under duress from his father, Sam had thought the trip would be the last good experience he had before a lifetime- likely a very short lifetime at that- of freezing to death.

When he had first arrived at the Neck, he had been lucky to run into a Crannogmen hunting party who saved him from entering the more dangerous parts of the bog that looked safe to outsiders. He was even luckier that they brought him directly to Greywater Watch, where Lord Howland was a gracious host who questioned why a son of the south would wish to join the Watch. Little by little, he forced Sam to answer more and more until it was clear that he would not be able to hide the truth.

Then he came to Winterfell.

Lord Eddard had questioned him more quickly than Howland had. And the look in his eyes after Sam explained his story put so much fear into Sam. He thought that the Stark lord was going to declare war on House Tarly for disgracing the Night's Watch by using it as an excuse to lose an unworthy heir. But then he reassured Sam. He had sworn to join the Watch, but he had done so under a threat, so the oath was void. He was an honoured guest of House Stark for as long as he wanted.

He fit in very well, once he found a place. Theon was someone he avoided at any chance, but now he was gone. He was supposed to be escorted by Ned to the west to be sent back to the Iron Islands, but the Lord of Winterfell found too much he had to do to be able to accomplish the trip himself. Instead, they simply had a feast for him where Robb declared him a brother. Luckily Theon had the grace to not cause any incident right before leaving.

Sam also avoided Rickon as much as possible. They had finally managed to teach the child that Sam was not a pig waiting to be cooked, but Sam was still not taking any chances.

Sansa had hounded him when he first arrived for stories about his brother and father. She wanted to know how great a knight the former would become and the latter was. But when Sam got into the more violent parts, of which his father made sure he knew of, she paled and excused herself. They had only spoken politely over the occasional meal since.

Lady Cat was also less than pleased when he backed up Arya's desire to be a warrior with examples of famous Ladies who fought among men and were respected. Still polite, but it was more strained after that point. Him mentioning that he had seen Septa Mordane appear to be drunk with Septon Chayle a few nights ago further straining her politeness.

On the more positive side, Lord Stark was always nice to him, giving Sam advice he was displeased to hear Randyll Tarly neglected to teach his heir.

Bran was always coming to him for additional stories that Old Nan did not know. He also enjoyed dueling with him often.

Arya was also a good person to be around, though they found a lack of shared interests impeded any long discussions they could have.

Robb was courteous, but his friendship with Theon prevented them from connecting.

Ironically, the Stark he spent the most time with was Jon Snow. The one who was not even a Stark. He had been one of the firsts Sam met when he arrived, and they had found a rhythm in their interactions.

Then, there was Gilly.

Sam knew upon first seeing her that she was special. She was sweet and kind. When he heard she was a Wildling, he thought it a joke. There was no way this beautiful and kind girl was a bloodthirsty cannibal who bedded with moose if their man was too small.

Even the other Wildlings were just children for the most part. And Tormund was rough but honestly less of a monster than Lord Tarly.

When Sam heard that Jon was heading to the Neck to escort the Reed guards, Sam had felt bound to accompany them, but the thought of not seeing Gilly helped Sam accept Ned's brief point that it would be a waste if they escorted him only for him to go back with them was the only justification he needed.

With Jon gone along with Ygritte and Dryn, Sam had spent more time with Gilly. Whether it was helping her out with chores, just hanging out or talking, they spent more time together than apart.

But still, he felt guilt.

While he was up here, having good times with Gilly, his friend Jon was fighting for his and all the Northerners' lives.

"Sam? Are you listening?"

Sam was jolted out of his thoughts by Robb. They had just been talking about the Raven that announced the tournament the King was throwing. Victory meant the Twins.

Robb had been very interested in it. As had Jon, only for Robb to point out that he already had a Keep of his own, even if it was not yet ready.

After Lord Stark announced Jon's reward for fighting the Sparrows, there was much talk about what that meant. It had been thousands of years since Moat Cailin had been an established house seat instead of a simple war time asset. Sam had looked in the history books with Maester Luwin to see what exactly it meant for Jon.

As Lord of Moat Cailin, Jon was technically above both Houses Dustin and Reed. White Harbor and House Manderly were too new, but the lands west of the Knife had originally belonged to the eponymous House Cailin who first held the Moat. They had died out thousands of years ago, from a mix of being on the front lines to every invasion of the North, as well as bad luck in choosing brides that could survive childbirth. Several other houses had tried to keep it within the family, and some succeeded for thousands of years at a time, but all fell eventually. Since then, The North had begun a rotation on what House held the Moat, until it became too much to staff full time.

Lord Stark had ordered builders be hired to repair it to its former glory, but till then Jon would stay at Winterfell like he had before.

Regardless, Jon was now a Lord of the North. But just one look at him with his family showed that he was still the same person he was when he left. Although he did seem to spend more time with Ygritte than before, and they had been together a lot before they left.

Sam had great respect for Jon. He was literally a hero.

Meanwhile Sam was… Not.

But he wanted to be.

"I think I am going to enter the tournament." He announced, interrupting Arya's complaining that she could not enter.

"Really?" Jon asked, surprised, but with a friendly smile.

"Well why not? I know I am supposed to be an honored guest, but I would hate to intrude upon Lord and Lady Stark when I could be improving my own life." Sam defended his announcement.

"And I am sure a certain Wildling would like to accompany you." Robb pointed out.

Sam felt his cheeks grow hot. "I mean, if she wants to come I would bring her. She deserves to see more of the south than just Winterfell. Yeah. In fact, I'll go ask her right now!" Sam said as he began walking to the Wildling's separate building.

"Well you won't be alone Sam. I am entering myself. Father said that I deserve some time away after being Lord for the War." Robb said.

"And I might as well come with you two." Jon said with a grin.

That night, Lord Stark relented to having both Arya and Sansa accompany them. Arya because she wanted to see the duels, even if she could not participate, and Sansa because she wanted to see the Capital. Though Lord Stark made the young men very aware that no harm should come to those two.

In the end, Gilly said she would like to come if it was no bother. Ygritte said she would join her. The six of them would head out with some guards when more information was sent from the Capital.

Sam would be the first to admit he was nervous, but he also wanted to actually do something for a change, rather than let others make decisions for him.

MOAT CAILIN

RAMSAY SNOW

Ramsay rode into the North's main defense against the South with a couple hundred Bolton men as backup to aid his father in holding the Fortress.

It was very unlikely that a second force would attack, but it was meant to send a message to the South that they had made a mistake. And the North would remember this slight. They always did.

'After all,' Ramsay thought, 'It would not do any good to have them think we are defenseless without the Snow pup.'

Ramsay had never met any of the Stark Household- His father had made sure that he was always away when Lord Stark had to come for business- yet he felt like he would have been good friends with Jon Snow. They had similar backgrounds after all. How different could they be?

As he dismounted, Ramsay saw his father standing by one of the towers- Ramsay was unsure which, this was his first time here- and beckoned him to come over. They needed to speak.

Ramsay had only formally met his father two years ago. His brother Domeric had fallen ill while squiring in the Vale, and Roose had feared he would be without an heir, so he had visited the Mill Ramsay lived at. Since Domeric managed to recover, Ramsay was not welcomed as much as he thought, but he was given duties to fulfill. But soon Domeric would be returning from the Vale, having stayed behind to try to help quell what remained of the Sparrows. And then Ramsay would lose that connection to his house. Where he belonged.

Once they were behind closed doors, Roose looked his son in the eyes.

"You are intelligent enough to know that you can not continue your life as it has been up to this point. You have had some leeway, but it has to end when Domeric returns. I have a solution that is quite simple. King Robert is hosting a tournament, and the main prize is half of the Twins."

Ramsay nodded in understanding. A keep of his own, with his own smallfolk. Ones who would have to obey if he ordered them to leave behind their decks. "I will do you proud father." Ramsay said in appreciation.

"You better. The Starks are in a...unique balance. On the one hand, Lady Catelyn being from the South, and causing Lord Eddard to build a Sept in Winterfell led to some friction from the more religious lords when she first came North. That died down after a while, but the fact that the Sparrows attacked the North is bringing that friction back to their minds. Add in the fact that young Robb and his siblings were raised in both faiths, and some are a bit nervous which he will turn to if he has to make a choice. His appearance does nothing to assuage these concerns. On the other hand, the Bastard of the family was the one responsible for saving the North. Add in his appearance being a near match to his Father's, and he is very popular right now. Fan the flames right, whisper in the right ear, and the Starks may end up fighting each other when Eddard stops breathing. They could destroy each other, and from the aftermath, House Bolton would have no choice but to take command of the North. And if that were to happen, we would need all the resources we could get. Resources that another branch of the House could provide easily."

Ramsay nodded in understanding. "I understand Father. I will take the Twins in the name House Bolton."

Roose nodded. "Show the South that Jon Snow is not the only Bastard of worth."

RIVERLANDS-SEAGARD

EDMURE

"A Tournament for the Twins?" Edmure asked in astonishment.

"Aye. Though Robert appears to also be splitting the Keep. One victor gets the Northern half, another the Southern, they will split the tolls." Patrek Mallister said.

Patrek had been part of Edmure's group of heirs and knights to confront the Sparrows, and him going to Seagard to get his men ment he was the one to learn they had taken the Twins in the first place. He had set up the first lines of defense while Edmure rushed with the others to help. Luckily, Lord Jason was finally pushed to the point where he helped his son, rather than obey Edmure's father, so Patrek managed to avoid punishment. Some of the others were less lucky, but had all managed to maintain their titles as heirs. And for most the punishment was more a formality than a form of penance.

Edmure thought over this news of a tournament. Another two lords in the Riverlands would help maintain the area of the Twins, which were currently being commanded by local lords. On the other hand, it could send Riverland's resources to other Kingdoms depending on who won. The Freys were hated, but no one denied their wealth. The thought of the Lannisters gaining that in addition to their own gold made Edmure's blood boil.

"Patrek, would you like to accompany me to King's Landing?" Edmure asked, to which Patrek grinned.

Edmure's only regret was that he had a feeling his Father would approve of his plan to keep the Twins under Riverrun.

VALE- GATES OF THE VALE

MYA STONE

"A Tournament?" Mya asked her friend.

"Aye. One that will have two winners instead of one. Apparently they will share the Twins as its new lords." Myranda Royce told her. She then put her head on her hand like she always did when she was daydreaming. "Perhaps these new lords will be better looking than the last one and his family. I may be a widow, but I am still young enough, and even half the Frey's toll would be a promising match."

Mya realized what her friend was saying. "Are you thinking of going and watching? All just to find a husband?"

"Why not? It will be a better experience than anything to happen in the Vale recently." She retorted.

The Sparrows who had attacked Mychel had been found and killed, either by knights or the Hill Tribes. And any other Sparrows were laying low, praying that their seven pointed star scars fade quickly.

Mya had no memories of ever leaving the Vale. But the Tournament would be in the Capital. King's Landing. Where her Father- Her KING Father- was. She had some memories of him, but she could not picture his face. But he apparently knew about her and was looking out for her.

Just once. One more time to see him. To actually be able to remember what he was like.

"Could I come?" She asked, unsure of what she would do if Myranda said yes.

IRON ISLANDS- TOWERS

RODRICK

"The answer is no." Rodrick spoke to his niece.

"Come on Nuncle. We can finally show those Greenlanders your skill. You are already one of the best duelists on the Islands." Asha said.

She had come here with the hope that this tournament would allow her to ride the Ironborn's recent popularity from the War. The Twins were nothing to sneer at in terms of wealth, and the Islands were unfortunately known for being poor when they could not raid. Had The Late Lord Frey wed a daughter to an Ironborn house besides the Greyjoys, the dowry could have practically doubled the House's wealth.

"It is exactly because of that that I must stay. Me being here is essentially the only thing holding your father back from doing something stupid that would end the Ironborn once and for all. And yet he has also managed to practically turn me into his puppet in one fell swoop." Rodrick spoke bitterly.

His sister Alannys, Balon's own wife, had already been sent to Casterly Rock to take the place of Theon in Winterfell.

Balon and Alannys had grown colder since the failed rebellion. A woman like her would be a more acceptable loss to the Captains more on the fence about war than Balon's sole direct heir Theon.

"Nuncle, I know we disagree about this, but the Tournament will be over and we will be back here in less than two moons. We both know the state of the Fleet, and Father can not declare war so quickly. And if we do manage to win, that will just increase your own influence here even more." Asha argued.

Rodrick did understand her points. But it was partially a gamble.

"Very well Niece. I will leave some of my most trusted men as my representatives to your father." Rodrick decided, before starting preparations to reach the Capital.

THE REACH- HIGHGARDEN

WILLAS

"Never! I never dreamed that you would be a more incompetent lord than your father! How in the Seven Hells did you manage to prove me wrong!" Oleana Tyrell was yelling at her grandson, who finally made an appearance outside of the Lord's Solar or his rooms, which guards had barred the rest of his family from entering since war with Dorne had been declared.

Willas had not been much in terms of physical prowess since his tourney accident, but he had still had a respectable amount of muscle and height, even with his need for a cane. Now though, he made his former self look like a young member of House Manderly in comparison. He also had begun to grow a beard, and it was as unkempt as the Vale's hill tribes'.

Margeary, in contrast to the Queen of Thorns, took a more gentle approach, grabbing her brother's shoulder and forcing him to look at her. "Willas please, the war is over. The Sparrows are almost done. There is no need for you to lock yourself away from us. There is nothing left to do but spend time with your family. I miss my brother."

Willas looked at his two relatives. "The Sparrows will be dealt with soon enough. They would have been disbanded sooner if Lord Tarly had not run off against my orders." Willas said, a hint of venom in his voice.

And then Oleanna slapped him.

"Oh shut up about disloyal bannermen! Your refusal to fight was you being disloyal to the Throne. Tarly was following orders, and now everyone who has not met him is praising him. Some are even whispering that he would make a better Warden than you. And once you lose a Wardenship, the rumours will turn to him being a better Lord of Highgarden. Add in his Florent wife, and he may in fact be very close to leading a revolt against us. He is already trying to turn House Tarly into House Peake." Oleanna said.

That caught Willas' attention as much as the slap. "What do you mean?" House Peake had been extinct for nearly a century.

"Randyll managed to capture Blackmont in Dorne, and he claims since he killed the heir, and there are no more men in the family, he should get the Dornish Keep. Dornish law states that he did not kill the heir, as it is a lady, not her brother. But he says that Dornish succession was never legal in the first place if it put women in front of men. He is heading to King's Landing to speak directly to Robert on the matter, and that fat fool is sure to agree if he gets drunk enough. He and his son are also entering the Tournament in the Capital. If they both win, that is either three or four keeps under their control, depending on how one views it. If one wins, then three for sure, but those keeps are also very wealthy in their respective regions. He only has Dickon since Sam ran off and joined the Night's Watch, but he has three daughters. Three daughters each with a keep for their husbands to gain. And there are enough families in the Reach who would turn on us for such a promise. Randyll has not respected you since the accident, and he may very well turn against us, under the justification that it was treason to refuse." Oleanna explained.

"So then, what should I do?" Willas asked.

"Only one thing to do. Enter yourself. Prove to the world that you are not to be trifled with. If necessary, make Horn Hill the Reachman's Castamere." Oleanna explained.

Unable to give a reason against her, Willas returned to his Solar to begin preparations to leave for the Capital. Though he was slightly hampered by several spiders he kept finding in the Solar.

CROWNLANDS- KING'S LANDING- STREET OF STEEL

GENDRY

"Welco- Your Grace!" Gendry said in surprise, but milder than the last few times.

The first time the King had come to Tobho Mott's Smithery, it was to purchase cards that had appeared among the armor and metalwork they were selling. He realized it was someone very important, but it was not until Master Mott spoke to him that Gendry realized he was the King.

Strangely, the King himself also seemed to be more nervous or uncomfortable than he would expect.

Since then, the King had visited several times, some to buy cards, others to just look, and occasionally to repair weapons.

He had been on a delivery when the King was dueling Trant, and he had recognized Tommen from the visits and kept the young prince safe. Then the King himself brought him back to the shop, and they had seen each other several more times over the last few moons.

"Gendry!" The King said with a smile. With him was a servant who immediately went to speak with Master Mott about the current order the King was here for.

Gendry had no idea what would cause the King to take such an interest in the maintenance of the Keep's weapons so suddenly, but it was good for training and business.

"So then… Anything new in your life?" The King said while the two were alone.

"Not much Your Grace." Gendry said. Despite spending more time with the man than he ever thought possible, he was often at a loss of what to say. "The work has finally started to get steady since people realize they may still need regular weapons during War Mode."

The King nodded. "I see. Well, you may be getting more work here. You hear about the tournament?"

Gendry nodded.

The King continued. "Yes, people from all over Westeros will be coming for it, and the price is relatively low considering the possible reward. You will have plenty of new people who may need minor things done while it happens. Unless of course… You are planning on participating?" He asked.

Gendry had considered it. Who wouldn't? But he realized he likely did not have a chance. His Iron Core deck did not have the most impressive record against his fellow Flea Bottom residents.

"Like you said, people from all over are coming to participate in it. Compared to all of them, I doubt I would get too far. Besides, with odds that bad, it would be a waste of gold."

The King had a look on his face as though he was just reminded that to most people, gold was a rarity.

"I see, but on the other hand, you could say you have the same odds as anyone else. And think about it, if you participate, it would at least be a new experience. You work hard, I have seen it. I'm sure your Master would be willing to give you a few days off. Even if you lose, it will be a fun memory you can tell your kids about." The King said before patting Gendry on his shoulder, like they were old friends.

The servant-Varys, Gendry thought his name was- and Master Mott came back into the entrance having finished business.

Varys handed the King a coin purse.

"Mott, I believe it's half up front as usual, is that right?" The King asked as he counted the coins before placing them on the table.

Gendry was never taught to read, but he could count. He had been Mott's apprentice for years, and knowing if you were being underpaid was an important lesson for anyone who works. The usual payment for the Red Keep was around thirty Gold Dragons; fifteen before and fifteen after.

The King paid with twenty one Gold Dragons. Three sets of five, and a fourth of six. Noticeably, the stack of six was separate from the fifteen, and closer to Gendry than Mott.

"Well then lad, I wish you luck, whatever you decide."

And with that, the King left.

CROWNLANDS- KING'S LANDING- RED KEEP

VARYS

Hours after returning to the Red Keep, Varys was walking down one of the hidden passages Maegor had constructed. After awhile, he reached the end and came out just outside the Throne Room. There he saw Baelish conversing with Stannis and Jaime. The three people of note in the Capital with the least in common.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked as he approached the trio.

"Not much Lord Varys, just plans for the Tournament." Jaime spoke first.

Stannis looked at Baelish as though the smaller man was a cockroach. Which was likely his opinion on Littlefigner, but normally he was at least able to put it aside when discussing important matters. "Why you would waste the gold when you plan on losing is beyond me. I thought you were supposed to be good with money. It's the only reason Robert and Lord Arryn brought you here in the first place."

"I did not say I was planning on losing." Baelish countered. "I simply have a good grasp of my own abilities. I could win one or two rounds, but I would be unable to take the final victory. So, I might as well raise money in a way more suited to my skills."

"So you will be wagering money on different bets? Like you have in previous tournaments?" Varys surmised.

"As always, you know me best." Baelish responded sardonically. "Of course my Whores will also be working more than they are used to. I may need to hire some new ones sooner or later just to keep up with the demand."

"If it will help with raising money, I will keep my complaints to myself, but if you end up cheating you will pay for it." Stannis threatened.

"Has there been any instance of cheating in duels?" Jaime asked, a look of honest curiosity on his face. "Considering all we know about the Cards, is it even possible?"

"I am afraid even I do not know the answer to that." Varys admitted.

"Ah, another thing you remain unaware of. Are your birds finally flying away from your Web." Baelish pointed out.

Varys kept his demeanour calm, but it did cause a brief flitter of fear in his heart. He needed to figure out if the Necklace was still working. It could mean the end of him.

"Regardless, I am sure Baelish could find a way." Stannis said through his grinding teeth.

Varys decided to move the conversation onto the other member. "And will you be joining the tournament Ser Jaime?"

The young lion sighed. "I honestly do not know. His Grace says there will be a joust and a melee, so I may join those, but I could hardly be Lord of the Twins if I entered the main event."

Jaime was a decent duelist, but it was painfully true that his sword skills were truly where he shined.

"I think you may have to resume your duties of watching your sister." Baelish mentioned. To this, Stannis and Varys both found themselves nodding in agreement.

Ever since Prince Joffrey had departed for Essos- With the Hound and a ship worth of men to act as guards, as he was still a valuable hostage for any enemy of the crown- Queen Cersei had been practically irreconcilable. Only Jaime was consistent with getting her to calm down and be civil or perform her duties among the Noble Ladies of the Capital, who learned quickly to never bring up Joffrey, Essos, or Dueling in her presence. Robert, for all his improvements in the past year, was unable to close the gap that existed in their marriage, though he seemed to possibly be making up for it when it came to his kids.

The conversation lasted a few more minutes, but mainly focused on logistics and security and what additional rules Robert would come up for it. From what he revealed so far, it would definitely not be boring.

Varys returned to his room and took out the Necklace. He put it on as he has for years, and tried to focus on making it work.

'Show me something. Who will win the Tournament, What Joffrey is doing, Baelish, ANYTHING.' Varys pleaded silently in his head.

That night, Varys had a dream.

STORMLANDS- TARTH

BRIENNE

"Once again Brienne, I am so sorry I failed you in our Kingdom's hour of need." Prince Renly spoke to the heir of Tarth.

"No need to apologize, My Lord. You were in the Capital and we thought Storm's End itself would be quicker to respond." Brienne assured her liege that he had done nothing wrong. "I am sure your duties on the Small Council kept you busy enough. I could hardly imagine having to rule the Stormlands on top of them."

Renly had just returned from the Capital to the Stormlands. He was planning a full tour of the Kingdom to measure the damage the Sparrows had done to it himself. Tarth, which had managed to repel the pirate raids without mainland reinforcements, was the first stop.

In all, their Sparrow problems were both minor and consistent. Rarely did they target actual soldiers, instead preying upon the ravens and isolated messengers. The Maesters said it would take a full year, perhaps two, to train new Ravens for all the keeps attacked. The Maester who taught ravenry at the Citadel was rumoured to be heading to Storm's End to aid in quickening that timeframe.

Renly smiled softly and chuckled. "Would that the people in the Capital were as understanding of you. I never thought I would ever see Robert and Stannis as united as they were in saying I was incompetent. But the truth of the matter is that it was a bit of both."

"I am surprised to hear that Stannis has not objected to this tournament His Grace has decided to throw. He did often voice his objection to the ones before the Cards. I remember hearing that he would head to Dragonstone just to get away from it all." Brienne commented.

Renly seemed to grow more alert at the brief mention of Dragonstone. "Yes well, he did voice his objection, but it seems Robert wore him down. Are you planning on entering the Tournament?"

Brienne felt herself growing nervous, despite herself. "Would that be allowed? Not many would approve of a woman in a tournament."

"I'm sure there will be no problems. Everyone has cards, no matter the sex. But if you are concerned greatly, you could always enter as a mystery knight." Renly assured her before closing his eyes. "I can see it now, instead of Brienne of Tarth, the Sapphire Isle, your opponents will fear the mysterious Ruby, of the Emerald Shore."

Brienne could not help but smile. "A name like that would hardly cover the question of manhood, but I might consider it."

"If you don't use it, I will." Renly jested.

"You are competing?" Brienne asked, surprised.

"Robert wants all the help he can get, does not matter who wins as long as they are not a lion. I was thinking of grabbing Edric as well."

Brienne nodded, her mind made up about the tournament. "You can count on me, My Lord. I will do everything I can."

Renly smiled at her. "Thank you Brienne. You are the embodiment of loyalty."

STORMLANDS-BLACKHAVEN

BERIC

"A bit higher Pod." Beric shouted to his second squire as he raised his shield, just managing to block Beric's strike, but still fell under the force of the blow.

"You are getting better at least." He said as he helped the boy up.

"Sorry, My Lord." Pod said. He had said it so often that it was practically every third thing out of his mouth.

Beric had taken Pod as a squire after fighting alongside him in Dorne and seeing the young boy save his life. When he learned that Pod's original knight- a cousin of his no less- had intentionally sent him on the front lines while he stayed in a more defensible position, Beric challenged him to a duel and humiliated the Payne Knight. Now Pod was with him, replacing

young Ned Dayne, who had to go back far too early to assume his duties now that his family had been almost wiped out.

While Ned had little good to say about Ser Gerold Dayne, his only living family at this point, it seemed that time had allowed the knight to mature into a good man. He seemed to be taking a lead in trying to fix everything Dorne had lost in the War, but it was doubtful they could shore up their reserves by the time Winter rolled around. Thankfully Dorne had the mildest Winters of them all, but it would still be hit harder than any would want.

In any case, Beric trusted that Ned would be safe, and now he had to teach Podrick.

He had shown great bravery in the heat of battle, but outside of their first meeting, Pod was a shy and clumsy squire. The boy had little to no confidence at all. Beric had to find a way to fix that.

He was going to be heading to the Capital for the tournament, and Thoros would be there as well. Maybe his drinking companion would have an idea.

Until then though, all they could do was train.

"Alright Pod, get your deck out, time to see how your dueling has improved." Beric shouted at his squire, who paled at the change of battle.

ESSOS-PENTOS

ARIANNE MARTELL

"Here we are. Pentos. Finally." Ariane said as the city appeared before them on the Ship.

The Journey had been eventful to say the least.

First, a storm had thrown them off course, and they had learned that the captain was a son who inherited his father's ship without ever setting foot on it. He had forced them to head back to Westeros for supplies and repairs. The price of which was increased with the war just starting off. They managed to make repairs on Tarth, which had just fought off pirates. Arianne and her group feared discovery everyday that they were forced to stay.

They finally departed, only to barely avoid some pirates and Sell-sails who thought that they could be easy prey. The Captain had ordered a more southbound route than originally planned, and they ended up in Lys.  
Not wanting to risk more bad luck on the ship, the Princess' group figured going by land but staying by the coast would be quicker. They ended up entering Tyrosh and Myr before realizing they were close enough that a ship would have no trouble getting to Pentos. It cost them a good chunk of their remaining money, but they booked passage and now their destination was finally within their sight.

Unfortunately, their journey was also plagued by bad news. While in Myr, they learned that the war had ended, and Prince Doran was bound to the Night's Watch and Quentyn was dead. Arianne refused to leave her room for a fortnight as she came to terms with the loss of her family. The news that the Usurper had disinherited her was a less painful blow in comparison.

But soon they would have their revenge. In this city, the last remains of House Targeryean, who would unite with Dorne and strike directly at the Capital.

She did wonder what her betrothed would be like. She knew that Robert was hunting him since he took the throne, so no doubt King Viserys would be a veteran of many battles from before the cards came into existence. Perhaps a few scars he let his enemies inflict to make them feel better before they died.

As they departed from the ship, they gathered all their belongings and walked off the harbor.

Ariane turned to her companions. Among them were her two cousins, Obara and Nym. They were angered at their father's death that started the war, but assurance that this would be the best way to avenge him was enough to get them to come. Besides them were her other friends: Andrey Dalt, Garin, and Sylva Santagar. Three friends of her youth who accompanied her to bring about Dorne's final victory.

"Alright then, we are looking for Illyrio Mopattis' Manse. Father said he was a Magister, so it should be easy to find it." She said to the group.

Andrey looked at the city in front of them. "We can probably find it before the sun sets. Does the Magister know we are coming? He could have sent people to escort us if he did."

"We are months later than we originally thought we would be." Sylva pointed out. "Even if he knows we were on our way, he would probably think we did not make it."

"Let us just find the Manse." Obara said, moving them along.

Some questions asked of the locals, and they soon found the directions to the Manses the Magisters lived in. But when they got there, they could not tell which belonged to Illyrio.

"Can't we just go up to one and ask?" Garin suggested.

"Magisters are always on the lookout for any chance to have leverage over their fellow Magisters. If we go to one and get it wrong, they may hold us as hostage to Illyrio. Or if they realize we have a Princess of Dorne, they could just inform the Iron Throne about us. Then we will really be in trouble." Nym pointed out.

By this point, Arianne was both annoyed and tired. She had traveled so far, and had to deal with a loss of her family. Now her journey was almost over, and all that stood in her way was a guessing game.

She saw a man walking by himself towards the Manses. He had black hair, pale skin, and walked with the air of a prey ready to strike quickly at its attacker and escape.

'Better than nothing.' She thought to herself.

She walked over to the man.

"Hey! You with the black hair." She yelled out.

The man turned his body. He stopped walking, but was ready to run at a moment's notice. Which he almost did when his eyes landed on her friend's walking behind her.

He also seemed to be muttering to himself, as though he was talking to people there.

Arianne reached into her purse and pulled out what was almost all of her remaining wealth: three gold dragons and five Silver Stags.

"Tell us which Manse is Illyrio's, and it is yours." She announced, holding up the money.

That only seemed to make the man more eager to run. But he held his ground, although he did shift himself into what Arianne assumed was a more defensive stance.

"Why would you want to know that?" He asked.

"None of your business." She said. She was so close to finally being done. This man was all that stood in her way now.

"Keep your coins. Just leave." He said.

"Hey!" Garin shouted at the man. "It's a generous offer. You got nothing to lose. Just tell us."

"Fuck paying him." Obara said, also impatient after everything that has gone wrong so far. She summoned her Duel Disk. "We can just beat it out of him."

"Told you Jae." The man muttered, before he jumped back and summoned his duel disk. But before they could officially begin the duel, a voice rang out.

"What is going on here?"

Everyone turned and saw a man in a knight's armor walk towards them. Going by his voice, he was a Northerner. Arianne paled at the realization that they had been found so close to safety.

"Get back Jorah!" The man yelled at the knight. It was clear they knew each other.

The knight, now named Jorah, looked at the group attacking his friend, and confusion was clear on his face. "Princess Arianne?"

'This is bad.' Arianne realized. Not only was this man a Westerosi, but he recognized her, so he would likely be someone fairly important outside of Dorne.

"What?" The man turned to Jorah, confusion on his face.

The knight quickly stood between his friend and the Dornish group, drawing the full attention of both.

Jorah turned to his friend.

"That, Your Grace," The knight began, pointing at Arianne. "is your betrothed. Princess Arianne of Dorne."

WESTERLANDS-CASTERLY ROCK-LORD'S SOLAR

TYRION

Tywin Lannister was a man who had done very well to hide his emotions. He never showed when he was pleased, nor when he was angered, unless he wanted it known. It was one of the reasons he was able to be Hand to Aerys.

Even so, it was easy to see his mood by how he handled himself, if one knew where to look.

And a lifetime of disappointing his father made Tyrion an expert at reading him.

As Tywin finished writing one of several orders-this one ordering Ser Gregor Clegane to head to Dorne and start raiding every settlement he could find within the desert- with more fury on his face than usual, Tyrion pieced together how his father was.

"I did not think you cared for cousin Cleos so much." Tyrion told his father. Aunt Genna had been more ambivalent than one would expect a widow to be when informed her husband was dead, but Cleos and his siblings were devastated and swore to lead the Westerland army in revenge, only to be relieved that Lord Stark's Bastard saved them the trouble.

"Robert is not denying that fool his birthright because of incompetence. If he was, I could hardly argue against it, we both know that. Instead, he has forgotten how dangerous a lion can be to a Stag. He thinks that he can use it to pay off his debts to us."

Tyrion nodded. He took a certain amount of pleasure in seeing his father unleash his rage on someone other than him, but he still cared for his house as a whole. And this was a slight.

"So then, I take it you will be heading to the Capital again?" Tyrion surmised.

"Aye. And I will be taking anyone with a decent deck with me. As loathe as I am to admit it, I know what yours is capable of." Tywin said.

This surprised Tyrion. But he should not have been. His father had seen him duel, and that was the one thing that he never insulted him on.

"Any other candidates, or will it just be family?" Tyrion asked.

"You can bring those sell decks of yours." Tywin said.

Bronn had proven a capable fighter, taking part in the Breaking of Sunspear, where he apparently killed Prince Doran's guard Areo Hotah. Chiggen had stayed behind as a guard for Tyrion, but both had proven to be skilled.

"Any bannerman or son of one can also participate, though they will swear to stay loyal to House Lannister even if they must swear to House Tully. Multiple Kingdom Houses have always been few and far between, but the threat of their remaining family should keep them in line." Tywin continued.

"Will Cleos be participating?" Tyrion asked.

"If he can. He will no doubt lose, but to just give up without fighting for his birthright would be worse than just losing it outright."

Soon after their discussion came to a close, Tyrion walked out of his Father's solar with an honest grin on his face. He always enjoyed seeing Jaime, Tommen and Myrcella-even if Cersei soured it with her presence-and this was one more reason to see them. Especially with Joffrey out of the way.

'Whatever happens, this tournament will definitely be eventful.' Tyrion thought to himself.

EPILOGUE- 2 WEEKS LATER

IRON ISLANDS

THEON

As heir to one of the Seven Kingdoms that gave Westeros its name, Theon's escort should have been overseen by Lord Stark, before being handed over to his own people. However, Eddard Stark had been busy with seeing the North run smoothly now that he had finally returned, and so Theon had understood the Lord of Winterfell's inability to escort him to the western coast of the North, where an Ironborn ship captained by a Blacktyde was awaiting him.

The longer the trip took, the more nervous Theon found himself getting. He was finally heading home.

No doubt his father would greet him with open arms. He knew the reason he was being sent back in the first place was to be prepared to inherit the Lordship, so he and his father would be spending much time together. He doubted he would get to go to the tournament in King's Landing, but he was here for a better prize than some bridge toll.

He was saddened by the knowledge that his mother would be in Casterly Rock, but that was obviously a price worth paying. And if they mistreated her, the Lions would no doubt be out another fleet, like before.

On the last morning of their journey, Theon stood on the longship as he observed the Islands appear. The Sun from the east illuminating the Islands. By noon, they had docked on Pyke, where a somewhat familiar face awaited Theon's return.

The man was wearing a roughspun green wool robe that did not reflect his noble heritage, and his hair was freshly wet from salt water.

"Uncle Aerion." Theon greeted with his usual cocksure smile. He had heard of his change since the war from the Ironborn on the ship, but this was still such a change.

"Nephew." The man known as Damphair said simply."Your Father sent me here to bring you home."

Getting on the horse that a Drowned Man held, the two Greyjoys rode to the keep named for the capital of the Iron Islands.

Once there, Theon walked the familiar halls of his childhood, his uncle gone with a brief farewell and a reminder of the Drowned God's power, claiming he was responsible for the cards. Having heard the same about every god, Theon nodded just to end the line of conversation.

He reached the main chambers, where he saw his father staring at a map before turning to look at him.

Theon stood straight, hoping to display an air of pride and strength. "Father. I have returned."

"I can tell." Lord Balon said.

The Lord of the Iron Islands stood and walked over to his son, only to hand him a card as he continued on. "We will talk more tomorrow, I have work to do that can not be delayed."

"What is this?" Theon asked as he looked at the card his father gifted him.

"Something every Ironborn will have in their deck soon if I have any say in it." Balon replied as he left the room.

Theon looked at the first gift in nearly a decade his father had given him. It was a field spell card.

"The Seal of Orichalcos." Theon read the name aloud.

AN: And we come to a close for now, but we will come back. 8,000 words. Not a bad send off if you ask me. And I even got rid of one POV because I realized it would be redundant when I get back to this story.

The plan is to do four chapters of one story from now on. So next up is 4 straight weeks of Power Shift, followed by 4 of The Game Gets Chaotic! And then back to this for 4 chapters. If it would end on a major cliffhanger though, I may finish that off first though.

The main reason I chose here to end it on is so I can have plenty of time to craft decks for all the additional characters that have not dueled yet.

Getting into the actual chapter breakdown you all expect by now:

Sam is the longest POV. I honestly thought I would use him more when I first wrote him back in chapter 3. I hope to make it up by making him a central part of the Twins Tourney. And as seen in Willas' POV, his family will be there as well. But he is not alone. He brings most of the young gang with him while Ned takes care of the North.

Ramsay is tasked with winning by Roose. Domeric is alive, but the success of Jon has led to Roose wanting his bastard to get some spotlight as well.

Edmure wants to keep the Twins fully loyal to Riverrun, so he and his friends are entering as well.

Mya sees it as a chance to meet her father after so long. She honestly does not care about who wins. She just wants to see Robert.

Rodrick and Asha are also on their way for the Tournament.

Willas finally ends his self imposed solitude, only to learn how close the Tyrells are to losing their position. And if you think they could appeal to Robert if they actually were attacked, he and most everyone is still angry the Tyrells did nothing during the Dornish war.

Gendry talks to his father and gets a tip so he can try to advance his lot in life, just like Robert wants.

Varys has a conversation with some more minor but important characters on the council. I hope to also expand their presence in this fic during the tournament or after, even if they end up losing.

Brienne and Renly talk, and Brienne is in on Robert's plan to pay off the royal debt.

Beric hopes the tournament will help improve Podrick.

Arianne and Viserys finally meet, and it does not go well. If their journey seems unrealistic, I had to find a justification for what took them so long. Also, I was rereading this fic, and I want to clarify something that I thought might be confusing. Jorah was partnered with the men who attacked Viserys. The idea was they kill him and he ingratiates himself with Dany, then when they kill Viserys, who is the actual threat to Robert's rule, Jorah kills Dany. But since his partners failed, he is in his canon position of trying to spy on them in hopes to get a pardon. Just wanted to clarify if anyone was confused by that.

Tyrion and Tywin are heading to the tournament, and any Westerlander participating will be on their side.

Finally, Theon returns to the Iron Islands, and another Yu-Gi-Oh group is being recreated. Just like the Dark Signers, they are a slow burn adversary, though they will be fought sooner than the DS.

And with that, the curtain closes on this part of the story. I have done so much in this that was not planned out when I first wrote Chapter 1. It's weird rereading the early chapters and seeing how it has grown, and how much I still have to write. But a break is needed so I do not run out of ideas.

With that said, Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, or Favorites this story. We also have a TV Tropes Page, if any of you wish to help expand it.

With all that out of the way, I hope you all stay safe in these troubled times and have a good time when possible.

See you all later. Jaehaerys Joestar


	31. Chapter 30: Preparations for Tournament 2

AN: I LIVE!  
If you are solely interested in just this story, then I apologize for the wait. But I would ask that you at least give my other stories a fair chance.   
I know what you are all waiting for, so I will save most of my AN for the end like usual. Hope you enjoy it!

KING’S LANDING- STREET OF STEEL  
GENDRY  
The apprentice stared at everything on the bed. The sum of what he owned.   
There were two spare outfits nearly identical to the one he currently wore, save for the locations of specific stain. He was very lucky to have that spare third shirt and pants. Most of the people in Flea bottom were lucky to have just two, but Tobho Mott demanded he have a clean outfit possible so as to deliver works throughout the city. Something about maintaining an image of quality.   
Then, there was his Deck. Like everyone else, it and the Duel Disk had just appeared on his arm when he woke up, and his own lack of reading knowledge did not prevent him from being able to duel. The fact that cards were also being sold by Master Mott meant that Gendry could easily make his own deck. While thieves were unable to take cards without paying, Gendry’s work seemed to exempt him to some extent. Master Mott knew what his deck was, and never denied Gendry a card, even if the price was more than he could afford.   
The Duel Disk was also indestructible, or near enough. He should know. He and Master Mott lost several hammers on the first day of the Card’s appearence.   
The next item was a comb that he THINKS belonged to his mother, but he was too young at the time to remember the specifics. It was coated with Silver, and would fetch a good price if he could bring himself to sell it. Her brushing her hair with it was his only decent memory of her. There was also something she said, about his father, whoever he was, being the one to gift it to her. Fat lot of good he was, since he still abandoned them. If Master Mott abandoned him, it was his last resort.  
The final item was a small cloth pouch. It contained all the actual money he had to his name, from odd jobs he took on due to his size as well as Master Mott’s allowance so he could care for himself. Before, it had only ever held Coppers, with the occasional pair of Silver Stags added in when a visiting lord did not know how to handle payment needed help. But now, gold was inside the bag.   
Gendry had handled gold before for Mott, but he never dared try to take it for himself. Mott had taken him in sort of out of nowhere, saying his frame was built to be a smith. He figured stealing gold would erase any good relation that had been built between them.  
But then the King had started visiting. And the King had decided to give him half a dozen Gold Dragons. If Mott was going to object, he would have right after the King left.  
Six Gold Dragons was a lot of money. Sure, by no means would he be considered rich, not when compared to the money these lords threw around when they felt like it for no real reason, but if he was smart, he could probably leave the Capital, buy some land to farm, and still have some gold to spare for emergencies. Perhaps even a price for a bride.  
He could use this one chance to make a comfortable life for himself. Or, he could throw caution to the wind, bet on the chance to win the tournament, and then become a lord. Even if he lost, then he could simply continue on with being an apprentice.   
Gendry picked up one of the coins. He knew not which king was on it, only that it was not Robert, and his beard was long.   
He threw the coin into the air and caught it in his fist. 

WHITE HARBOR  
JON SNOW  
As their party road into the gates of the North’s only city, those who had never been here looked around in wonder.   
Jon looked at his friends and companions who had decided to go to the tournament.   
Robb and Sam were the least amazed, Robb having been here before, and Sam having been to Oldtown. Arya had also been here before, but she was still grinning as though it was a new adventure. Sansa was also looking around at the city, glad to finally be off the road after so long. Gilly and Ygritte were looking around at the city as though overwhelmed by the sheer amount of buildings. The largest singular settlement they had seen had been Winter Town, which was not even very populated at this time outside of Winter.  
They were greeted at the entrance by none other than Lord Manderly himself. The fat but jovial man was the same as Jon’s last memory of him from a trip here with Robb and Father, save for a few extra pieces of gray apparent in his hair.   
The lord of White Harbor bowed as both Robb and Jon approached him.   
“My Lord Robb, My Lord Jon. White Harbor welcomes you, brief as your stay is. We received word that you were traveling to the Capital for the Twins Tournament, if I am not mistaken.”  
Jon still felt a strange sense at being addressed as Robb’s equal. While he was still behind Rickon in the succession, his status as the new Hero of the North made up for the difference between Jon and Robb. Many Northerners felt similarly, with Lords bowing to him in a way they would never consider doing for a Bastard. Even the Smallfolk who did not know much about the nobility seemed to make assumptions, as when they had stopped at a small farming village, an old man said he hoped to live to experience Jon’s lordship of Winterfell.   
Normally, such talks would drive a wedge between even full siblings. And Jon had feared such a thing would happen with Robb.  
But it had not.   
Robb was the one who laughed the hardest when the old man spoke. Robb was the one who praised Jon’s heroic act to anyone who would listen- having pried the story out of himself and Ygritte.   
Jon shook himself out of such thoughts. Lord Wyman was still speaking.   
“...Actually the third group to come hire a ship and crew since the Tournament was announced.” Wyman said. “In fact, the Bolton boy Domeric was here for a bit, but said he would be on his way back South for it. He just wanted to check on his father and Keep before he went back.”  
Robb grinned. “I see. Well if the rumours are true, I look forward to facing him for the Twins.”   
Wyman let out a chuckle himself. “That would be a duel to remember, but I am curious, what are you going to do if you do win the Twins? You are already heir to Winterfell.”   
Robb had been asked that several times before. He never gave a clear answer. “Honestly, I do not know myself. Probably give it to a loyal bannerman. Or perhaps Bran or Rickon will want it.”   
They continued talking all the way to the Manderly’s Keep of New Castle. Father had told them they could spend a day there so that they could catch a ship the next day. Lord Manderly was more than happy to play host to them so soon after doing the same for Father.   
That night, they feasted with their hosts, who seemed more excited than most Stark bannermen at their presence. Robb spoke with Wyman and his sons, Sam had both Gilly and the Maester wrapped in conversation with him about many topics, Sansa spoke with Wynafryd, seeing the elder noble lady as a source of charm and etiquette. Arya naturally gravitated towards the sister Wyla instead.   
Jon had noticed Wynafryd looking at him strangely for a moment, but then she stopped just as Ygritte walked towards him and they stayed together.   
Jon grimaced a bit. While he was a hero, he doubted how long such a title would last once it became known that he and Ygritte were lovers. Back at Winterfell, it had been something no one really talked of, but everyone essentially knew.   
Jon knew it would not be a secret, he just hoped he could weather the problems it brought.  
But that was a problem for later. For now, he had a tournament to participate in. 

KING’S LANDING-SMALL COUNCIL CHAMBER  
ROBERT  
“So, this is what you came up with?” Stannis asked as he held the Gold Dragon in his hand.  
“Yes. A proof of victory that can also help those who decide to give up halfway through. Though I do wish His Grace had chosen Silver instead of Gold.” Baelish said as he took the Gold Dragon back.   
“It may be more expensive, but we will more than make up for it with the price of participating in the tournament.” Robert defended. He looked over at Jon Arryn. “How are the lists coming along?”  
The hand cleared his throat. “Several wealthy merchants have already submitted their names for the tournament. Local Lords of the Crownlands have done the same, and every day people arrive in the city for the same. No one whose name is not among the lists will be allowed to participate in the tournament, and if anyone does, they will be arrested.”  
“At least there are some rules.” Stannis grumbled. “So what exactly is the cutoff for the first part of the tournament?”  
“Sort of depends on how many manage to make it through all six days.” Robert said, “But I would set up for at ten and six to two and thirty bracket for the final part. If we need to make it even, we can simply elevate the winner of the traditional melee.”   
Renly then decided to speak up. “Considering the fact that there will be two winners, is there not going to be a final duel? I know Loras was asking about that. He said he would prove himself against all opponents.”  
‘Renly really does spend a lot of time with his former squire.’ Robert thought. For all of Robert’s (Justified) anger at Renly’s abandonment of the Stormlands in favor of court life, he was still his brother. Perhaps he could talk with Ser Loras and see if he would be willing to help Renly get better at ruling. One of his biggest regrets was that Ned was so far away that he could not get his help whenever he needed it. Perhaps the Knight of Flowers could be Renly’s Ned.  
The Council Meeting then moved from the tournament and into the final remaining issues of the Dornish war.   
“Lord Tarly is likely to approach you during or after the tournament.” Varys said. “He wishes to press his claim to Blackmont.”  
“There is no claim.” Stannis said. “He took the castle under orders from the crown, but that does not make him the lord of it.”  
“It may be in our best interest to grant it to him.” Baelish suggested. “Lord Tarly is one of the greatest military minds in the Kingdoms. Giving that man additional reasons for loyalty can not hurt.”   
“I know what Tarly wants.” Robert said before the argument got too out of hand. “I have actually been considering him since the war. Ned… brought some things to my attention. Do not concern yourselves with him.”   
The meetings continued on for another hour, before they got to the final issue. The one that guaranteed the surrender of Dorne. The one that had many in the room nervous. But, as king, Robert asked the question.  
“Where is the Mountain?”   
It was Pycelle who spoke up. “He is on his way to Dorne as we speak, per Lord Tywin’s orders. Word of his demise will probably reach us during the tournament.”

CUY- A SMALL ALEHOUSE  
SER GREGOR CLEGANE  
The Mountain took the flagon of ale and drained it in less than a minute, the pisspoor drink spilling down onto himself and the table. The men around him were giving him and his boys plenty of room.  
For whatever they thought of him, Ser Gregor Clegane was a loyal man.   
When the Old Lion told him to kill bandits, he killed them without question. The more violent the deaths the better. When he was told to end the dragon’s line, he made sure to do just that. And he had even managed to have more fun than usual with that task, though that time it seemed like Tywin was less than pleased. But he had not been punished, because he had followed orders.   
So, when the Old Lion told him to get the final blood out of Dorne, as a final reminder that the Westerlands were not to be trifled with, he did as the man said, bringing his loyal group called the Mountain’s Men with him.   
They had not been called into the war, instead Tywin told him to stay and help keep peace in the Westerlands. But everyone knew the truth. Ser Gregor could no longer fight.   
Ever since the Cards had appeared, The Mountain’s uses had been reduced.  
He had tried to make a deck filled with powerful cards, but he had never managed to power through the enemy on his own strength. He was not a strategist. He just needed to be told where to charge and he would kill.  
Lord Tywin gave him this order saying that he had accounted for that. According to Tywin, the moment he began to raze a village, the WAR MODE would reactivate in the region, allowing him to summon his monsters and participate in the battle himself. Just like the good days before the blasted Cards.   
He and his men would cross the Torretine in the night, and attack the villages one by one, making their way North out of Dorne. That was what Tywin told him, so he would do so.  
He saw Shitmouth and Chiswyck get into a drunken shouting match over a wench who was pale with fright towards them. But she was the one who was bringing them drinks, and she was smart enough to know not to stop.   
Normally he would just kill which one of them was more annoying, but now he could not. He would try that once WAR MODE was active. If he remembered.   
He finished another flagon. The wine was shit, but it did help with his head a bit. He stood up and threw a few coppers at the Owner of the Alehouse. Not enough to be worth what his men were doing, but the owner wouldn’t be getting any more out of them.   
He left the Alehouse and moved towards the Inn that he and the men were staying at. When the Innkeeper first saw him come, he offered the best room for almost nothing.   
Gregor walked into the Inn and down the hall. The best room was at the end of the hall.   
He stopped. The door was closed, but light from a fire was burning in the room. Someone was in there.   
In no mood for pleasantries- not that he ever was- he practically ripped the door off its hinges as he opened it.   
A man was sitting by the hearth. The first thing that Gregor noticed in the light was the man’s white hair, divided by a streak of black. Another few seconds, and he saw the man was Dornish, with purple eyes.  
“Ah. Ser Gregor Clegane. I was wondering when you would arrive.” The stranger said as though he and Gregor were old friends. He had killed one of his own men for less.   
“What are you doing here? OUT!” He barked out. He knew his own duel record. If he could intimidate the stranger into leaving, it would be better.  
The Dornishman simply smiled. “I understand your desire to be alone, but I am afraid we do not have the time. If you are to survive, I must act quickly.”  
Before Gregor could bark out another order, the Dornish man’s Duel Disk materialized. He pulled out the top card, and as he did so, his arm was lit aflame. Purple flame.   
Yet he paid the fire almost no mind, and Gregor briefly saw that it was in the shape of a Spider. Instead, he simply revealed the card as it glowed like his arm.  
“Spellbinding Circle!” The Dornish man yelled.  
Finally realizing he should probably move, Gregor found that he could not, as a circle of light appeared around him, keeping him paralyzed as though he was tied by Valyrian Steel chains.   
Unable to keep his own balance, Gregor fell face first onto the ground.   
The Dornishman walked up to him. “If I was anyone else, you would be dead by now. Ironic, me killing you may actually be enough for Oberyn to forgive me for leading him to his death. But don’t worry friend. I have plans for you. In fact, I am probably the only one in the Seven Kingdoms who does not want you dead. Certainly the only Dornish.”   
Gregor’s own Duel Disk appeared on his arm, only for the stranger to grab his deck and look through it.   
He sighed as if disappointed. “I see. It's a good thing I came. Your deck was exactly as Lord Tywin told Robert and the Council. Had you gone on to Dorne, you and your men would have been slaughtered by an army pretending to be a village. Trust me, I was the one charged with leading the men.”  
The Dornish man drew another card from his own deck.   
“Copycat!”  
A monster appeared between them, but before it could fully form, its appearance changed to get larger. Soon it was equal in size to Ser Gregor.   
Then the light faded, and Gregor found himself staring at himself.   
The Dornishman let out a gasping breath. “Whoo! Using that power just after I get enough strength back is not pleasant, let me tell you. I hope you are worth all this.”   
He handed Gregor’s deck to the copy. Then he turned and smiled at Ser Gregor. “Now then, while it leads your men to their doom, I would like to formally invite you to High Hermitage. So let us get going.” 

AN: I was hoping to include a duel to get back in the swing of things, but I ran out of time to get this out on time. But the tournament will officially begin next chapter.   
Just a heads up, I have Midterms this week, so I probably won’t even start the next chapter until those are over, (Though I do have an outline of it.) So the next one will be tentatively scheduled for in 3 weeks.   
So we begin this chapter with Gendry contemplating the tournament and what the money means to him. He has no idea why Robert has taken an interest, so he does not know what it means. He honestly considers just pocketing the money, but also knows there is a chance that he could become a lord and escape King’s Landing.   
Then we have Jon arrive in Whiteharbor with the rest of the Northern gang. Just a show that they are taking the faster way there. But then we get into the Jon/Ygritte relationship. Remember, Winterfell may know her, but to the rest of the North she is just another Wildling savage.  
Baelish unveils the way the tournament will be measured to the Small Council. I also use it to reintroduce some previous plot points, and to set up some basic rules of the tournament. More will come in the next chapter.  
And the meat of the chapter: Gregor and Gerold have met each other. The first is a bloodthirsty knight, murderer and Rapist. The second is a kinslaying madman with access to dark magic. Together, they fight crime.   
Kidding.  
Just how much danger will these two pose? 

With that, I bid you adieu for now.   
I hope you all stay safe, and I wish you good luck in all your future endeavors.   
See you next chapter,   
Jaehaerys Joestar


	32. Chapter 32: Tournament Begins

AN: Alright, done with Midterms, (3 of 4 graded so far. 100, 91, 95, and 98!) so I got started the very night I finished. Unfortunately, one professor decided to celebrate the end of Midterms by assigning a 5 page paper. The midterm was only 3.

In other news, I discovered CHAOTIC RECODE, which has led to a discovery of even more Chaotic cards than I knew about. So for my The Game Gets Chaotic! Fans, I will be adding even more Creautres to the possibilities.

Also, just a reminder but this has a Tv Tropes page. If you wish to help expand it feel free. I try to add what I can but I fear that some of the things I wish to add would be spoilers, and other tropes that apply may elude me.

Let's jump right into it.

VISERYS

PENTOS-ILLYRIO'S MANSE

"Do you have any plans at all?" Arianne asked the self proclaimed King of the Seven Kingdoms.

It had been a week since the Dornish party had joined up with the small group that made up the Targaryen Court. While they had gotten off to an admittedly rocky start- one that Viserys would not apologize for, as he could reference his own failed assasination attempt to justify his bad first impression- Ser Jorah had persuaded them to come to the Manse and rest before getting into the actual reasons for their presence. In that time, the splendour of Magister Illyrio's patronage had waned thin for those who had grown up in a stable home as grand as Sunspear and the Water Gardens.

"We are currently looking for allies. Not much can be done until we have them." Viserys answered succinctly.

"You have Dorne." Arriane pointed out. "If we head there, we can rally the Dornish with vengeance for the War. Then the other Kingdoms will follow."

"Does she actually believe that?" Maegor asked incredulously, as he floated between the two humans in the room.

"Apparently." Jaehaerys agreed with his fellow ghostly dragon. "It appears that her Father planned so much on her being Queen that he neglected to teach her to rule. Normally all that is needed in a queen is a family strong enough to justify the match, and the promise of heirs."

Viserys ignored the debating spirits of his ancestors. "Dorne has just suffered a defeat at the hands of the rest of the Kingdoms. On their own land as well. They are more demoralized and I doubt they would want to enter another conflict with such low odds of victory. The rest of the Kingdoms are likely unified by the experience as well. No, I am afraid any allies we make will have to be found here. Originally I was going to make a match between Danaerys and a Dothraki Khal, but the cards put an end to that before it could even begin."

Princess Arianne looked aghast. "You were just going to hand your sister over to those savages?"

Viserys looked at her, a twinge of shame at her description, but his face only displayed annoyance. "I was going to hand her over to a proven warrior with his own army that is constantly on the move." He justified the plan Illyrio had come up with.

After their first meeting, Arianne had taken to talking with Dany quite often. Danaerys was filled with questions on what Westeros was like, and even though Arianne's answers leaned heavily towards Dornish locations and customs, Dany was enthralled by it all.

The rest of the Dornish group had also grown into a routine. The Sand Snakes usually shadowed Arianne, and Viserys was honestly surprised they had not accompanied their Princess to this meeting. Garin had struck up a friendship with Ser Jorah, and was acting as the knight's unofficial squire. Andrey and Sylva were probably with Dany right now, fielding the Dragon Princess' questions.

'If this is the best we have to work with, then Valyria has truly ended.' Maegor had muttered when they had first come to the Manse.

"Regardless," Viserys said. "It matters not. What we need to do right now is plan out a strategy. Not simply go in with what we can muster now. I have been waiting years to avenge my father and brother. I can wait a few more if needed."

Arrianne did nothing to hide her impatience. Instead, she simply stood and walked out of the room.

"Pointlessly angering her will not bring you closer to the throne." Jaehaerys warned his descendant.

"I know, but she needs to understand that this is not so simple that I can win so quickly. For my family, I need to be cautious." Viserys said.

"True, but that brings us to an interesting point." Maegor said.

Viserys looked at the two dragons who were his ancestors. "And what would that be?"

"We have a general knowledge of our reigns and our successors, but we have no knowledge of the last few kings besides what we hear. And you have been very quiet about that topic as well. But since the Dornish came here, we heard some... worrying rumors." Jaehaerys explained.

"So, Viserys, Third of the Name. Answer our questions." Maegor said in a commanding voice. "Tell us about your Father. How did House Targeryean fall?"

ROBB

KING'S LANDING HARBOR

"So this is the capital of the Seven Kingdoms." Robb said as they stepped off the Manderly's Sea Wynd.

It was his first time down this far south, and so far he was not really all that impressed.

Admittedly, that was likely because a ship had brought them to the city straight from White Harbor, so any grand sites between the North and King's Landing had been skipped. But he would still prefer White Harbor to King's Landing. Even the smell was somehow better in the North.

"Shut your yap and help us Stark!" Ygritte yelled from above him on the gangway, Samwell Tarly between her and Jon.

On the last leg of the voyage, they had hit stronger waves than expected, and Sam had fallen Seasick. Upon seeing him vomit dinner out, Sansa had fainted, claiming that she was also unsuited for ship travel. She was currently between Arya and Gilly, though she leaned more towards her sister than the older Wildling.

"Oh, sorry." Robb muttered as he moved aside and let them walk off. Gilly and Arya guided Sansa to a crate large enough for her to sit, while Ygritte and Jon were almost pulled to the ground by Sam.

"Next time, we go by land." Sansa said, in a tone more common in Arya's voice than her own.

"We won't be on a time limit to get home when the tournament is done. We can spare the extra time." Robb assured her.

After Sam finally stood up, Arya asked the important question. "So, where do we go now?"

Robb pulled out the Raven note that came after the announcement of the tournament. He had already looked it over, but had not memorized it. "First, we must head to the Red Keep. There, we shall introduce ourselves to the guards and they will tell us where to go to officially register for the Tournament. As a household of House Stark, we shall also be given rooms in the Keep to rest in for the Tournament."

"I think I can help you all." A voice spoke up from behind them all.

Robb turned, startled only to see a man who matched Father's description of King Robert. But one who was at least a decade too young to be the king.

The man walked up to them, flanked by a man in Baratheon colors and a knight with a design of flowers on his armor.

Bowing to the group, the man introduced himself.

"I am Renly Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, and Master of Law. My Brother His Grace has had a member of the Small Council come to the docks every day to greet the participants who come by ship. It is a pleasure to see all of you."

The now announced Lord then turned to Robb specifically. "You must be Robb Stark." He then turned to Jon. "Which would make you the Hero of the North, and the new Lord of Moat Cailin. Jon Stark."

Sansa was suddenly back on her feet, ready to play the role of a noble lady as soon as the King's brother came onto the scene.

"Lord Renly! It is an honor to meet you." She said with a deep curtsy.

Renly smiled at her. "You must be Sansa! I heard you take after your mother, and I see that was not a lie! Unless you consider downplaying to be a lie." Renly grabbed her offered hand and kissed it, causing Sansa to beam like she was not just a few minutes ago been about to vomit.

Renly moved on, scanning their group. "Samwell." He nodded at the Reachman. He skipped Ygritte and Gilly, likely unaware of who they were. Then his eyes settled on Arya.

"I suppose that makes you Arya Stark." Renly held his hand out for Arya to give him hers like Sansa did, only for her hand to remain where it was.

After a few moments of this awkwardness, Renly stood straight and cleared his throat.

"Well then, allow me to escort you to the registration area. Once that is settled, I shall bring you to the Keep, where servants can show you to your rooms.

The Baratheon guard left but quickly came back with enough horses for them all.

They all rode to a building just outside the Red Keep, Renly led everyone save for Sansa and Gilly inside. The knight in the flower armor- who had introduced himself as Ser Loras when they got on their steeds- was speaking with the two of them. Or rather, with Sansa while Gilly stood near her nervously.

Renly walked up to a long table, where several men were going over several pages of people who had entered the Tournament. He got one of the men's attention, and motioned for them to speak to the man.

"Go up one at a time. The price is three gold dragons, as you know. Tell him your name and he will give you a bag. I will explain it for you once you are done."

Jon was the first to go up, but not before he reached into his own pouch of money- Father had given it to him, calling it his first tax payment as lord of the Moat- and pulled out some dragons to hand to Ygritte and Arya.

Robb was admittedly a bit nervous about Arya competing. She may want to duel, but she was still his younger sister, and he felt the need to keep her safe.

Once Jon was finished, Robb walked up and had his own name added to the list, then handed his own Gold over to the man, getting his own bag in return.

Once they were all done, Renly and Loras escorted them to the Red Keep, where they were brought to a hallway designated for Noble Northerners to use during the tournament.

Sansa was gushing about the Red Keep, and even Arya and Ygritte were impressed by the size of the Castle.

Once they were inside, Renly began to explain the tournament's rules for them.

"First of all, there is to be no Dueling in the Red Keep. The Kingdoms still need to be run, so duelists participating will be barred from the Keep from an hour after Sunrise to an hour before Sunset."

He turned to Sansa and Gilly. "Lady Sansa, since you and your handmaiden are not participating, you have almost free reign to talk with any of the other ladies who came to support their families."

Renly then turned to the rest of them. "Now then, feel free to open your bags."

Robb untied him. It was a small pouch that fit in his palm, and he felt two things inside of it. After untying the string he pulled out two Gold Dragons. But where one side had Robert's face on it, the Dragon was not on the opposite side. In its place, was strange writing that everyone had seen before. Maester Luwin had theorized that it was similar to some far eastern writings the Citadel had records of.

The Attribute symbols of the cards. He had Earth and Light.

"There are six Attributes for Monster cards." Renly explained. "Each Gold Dragon has one. Far too many people are competing to hold a regular style tournament, so for the first six days, you will all need to gather every attribute."

Then, the Prince and Lord of Storm's End smirked. "Of course, since we are offering The Twins as the prize, you must gather TWO sets of Attributes, for a total of twleve Gold Dragons."

The Smile Robb had had on his face faded. He needed another ten of these to just enter the actual tournament. And so did all the others. Not just ten though. They had to be at least two copies of each.

"There is one other way though." Renly said. If you would instead find yourself accumulating the same Attribute, then just seven shall suffice."

Robb thought it over. Assuming complete victory in every duel, it would mean less duels total, but you would have to be more selective in choosing your opponent.

"Well then!" Renly said, friendly cheer returning to his face. "I suppose I shall be off. Good luck, just ask a servant for anything you need. The Tournament begins in three days."

With that, the Master of Laws left the Stark children and guests to their own agendas.

Robb turned to everyone. "So, what do you all have? Earth and Light." Robb held his two Dragons between his fingers, showing their Attributes.

"Dark and Water." Jon showed.

"Wind and Earth." Sam said.

"Fire and Dark." Ygritte said.

"Light and Water." Arya held hers up, a grin on her face.

Jon got a quizzical look on his face. He reached into his own deck and pulled a card out. "I suppose they do not consider Divine to be used enough to count." he said.

Robb looked over and saw he was looking at his Slifer Card. The one that killed the High Sparrow. Sure enough, where others had their attributes, Slifer had his own: Divine.

"Are there others with that Attribute?" Sam asked.

"I've never seen one." Robb said. "And this was in your FIRST deck?" He asked, still amazed Jon had never used it.

"Aye. Thought about removing it more times than I can think, just because it's so hard to summon, but I just couldn't. Till now."

Jon placed the card not back in his deck, but in his pocket.

Robb was surprised. "You sure? It's your strongest card."

Jon sighed. "Last time I used it, I fell unconscious from the strain it put on my body. I don't need it for just a tournament."

Robb shrugged. "Fair enough." He turned to the rest of them. "Let's all do our best, and we all at least try to survive each day."

ROBERT

SEPT OF BAELOR -3 DAYS LATER

"Sound the Bells." Robert bellowed out.

It was noon, and the tournament was all set to begin. Everyone had enough time to get to the Capital, and the rules had been explained to everyone. Now, it was time to start.

One of the Septons nodded, and rang the bells. Throughout the city, Duelists were all awaiting this command to begin.

The moment the Bell made the first clang, Robert's Duel Disk came into existence.

TOURNAMENT RULES ACKNOWLEDGED. ADAPTING TO ACCOMMODATE. UNABLE TO DUEL ANY NONPARTICIPANTS. DUEL DISK WILL NOT DISAPPEAR UNTIL NIGHTFALL.

Stannis, who had been standing next to him, looked at his own Duel Disk and turned to Robert.

"Did it ever cross your mind that this would happen?" Stannis asked, grinding his teeth.

"No… No It did not." Robert muttered.

This. This would complicate matters.

EDMURE

STREET OF STEEL

The bells of the Sept rang out as the Tournament officially began. The Message that had appeared was all the proof Edmure needed.

Edmure had made it to the city just two days ago. The first thing he had done upon reaching the Red Keep was escort their Dornish prisoner, Tyene Sand, to the dungeons, he honestly did not care for her. Between the Dornish war and Sparrow attacks, he imagined none of the other people in the city did either.

Now, all that mattered was making sure the Twins remained loyal to the Riverlands.

He looked at his own Attribute Dragons. Both Water. He had been told that they were all random, that everyone got a random bag, but two Water Dragons for the Trout just seemed to be mocking Edmure. It also put him at a disadvantage in getting the regular win, while giving him the edge for the secondary condition.

With nothing else to do, Edmure started walking around, looking for opponents. When they had learned that the Duel Disks would not disappear, they all ran in different directions in a panic.

"Ser Edmure!" A voice called out.

Edmure turned and saw a face that had once been common, but now was practically gone.

Where once Edmure would have struggled to put a name to the thin face and weak chin, there was no question who it was.

"Ser Cleos." Edmure acknowledged the Lord of House Frey. Even if he did wear nothing but Lions on his cloak.

As the middle aged knight ran up to him, panting on the way, Edmure felt pity for the man, losing an inheritance the moment he got it. But he also knew that if he took the Twins, the keep would be going to Casterly Rock instead of Rivverrun. A lord through such an unexpected tragedy. And now he was going to lose his ancestral keep as well.

"This whole thing is just a farce. The Twins belong to me, but no one in the Red Keep will listen. Uncle Tywin told me not to bother him, but even he has to see the injustice." Cleos started ranting at the Tully heir.

Edmure sighed. "Ser- Lord Cleos, if you truly think so strongly of this issue, then fight for it, just like everyone else here."

Cleos' face was suddenly wrapped in fear. "B-but Ser, It is just plain theft!"

"With the King's command behind it." Edmure pointed out. He held his Duel Disk up. Cleos had his own as well, so he was signed up for the tournament. 'You can either whine about it to whoever will listen, but I doubt the King would give you his ear, or you can try to earn it."

By this point, a crowd was beginning to form who had overheard Edmure. Excited at the prospect of the first Tournament battle of the area, they surrounded the two participants.

Seeing no way out without losing face, Cleos gulped and nodded his head. The two of them began walking away from each other.

"Just to make sure this is worth our while." Edmure showed his Gold Dragons. Two Water.

Ser Cleos gulped again, and showed his own Attributes. Dark and Earth.

"All right then! Let's Duel!" Edmure announced as their Duel Disks sprang to life.

E:4000 C:4000

"I will take the first move." Cleos announced as he drew.

"I play Double Summon, allowing me to bring both Destroyer Golem and Armored Lizard to the Field!"

On the left side of the field, a creature made of stone came to life, taking a roughly human shape. Except for its right arm, which had both gold adornments and appeared to be made of human muscle. To the right, a giant blue lizard with a green neck sprang to life, also about the size of a man. Both of them were equal in strength at 1500 Attack.

"I will finish off with a face down and end my turn." Cleos said.

Edmure drew. 'Decent start.' He thought as he looked at Cleos' field. 'Too bad they are identical in actual strength.'

"I summon Mermaid Knight in attack mode!"

Edmure played the monster, and soon a creature with the top half of a woman appeared, while the bottom half turned into a tail. purple hair flowed from her head, and a pair of swords were in her hands. He matched Cleos' monsters at 1500.

"Next, I play the field spell Umi!" Edmure announced.

Water seemed to emerge from the ground, turning the rectangular space between Edmure and Cleos into a miniature ocean.

"This field increases Mermaid Knight's attack by 200, and while it is on the field, she can attack twice. Now, destroy his golem and lizard!" Edmure yelled as the female knight of the ocean readied its blades.

Armored Lizard tried to charge, only for a blade to fly right into its jaw, and travel down its neck. Water turned green as lizard blood seeped into the field and the lizard sunk under the waves. Destroyer Golem tried to attack as well, only for its human arm to be sliced through the elbow. The blade that took the arm then severed its head from the statue's body, joining Armored Lizard in the depths of the field.

E: 4000 C: 3600

"With that, I end my turn with a face down." Edmure said as he played it.

"My move then." Cleos said as he drew. "And you fell for my plan!"

Edmure's eyes widened at the announcement.

"I activate my face down ritual spell, Emblem of the Awakening! I tribute my Faith Bird from my hand, I can summon Cú Chulainn the Awakened!"

A triqueta of silver appeared on the field, in it, was a center circle of a third red, blue and green. A blue bird the same size as Cleos flew from his hand and into the circle. As it entered, another monster came out. First came the spear, followed by the arm and body. The human monster had decent armor, a necklace with some symbols on it, and patterned cloth over his armor. On his forehead was a crystal of some kind.

He had only 500 attack points.

'That is far too weak.' Edmure thought to himself. 'What is he planning?'

"Now, I will activate his ability!" Cleos announced. "By removing a level four monster from the graveyard, I can increase his attack by theres. So Armored Lizard will be avenged!"

The spear took on a different appearance, getting longer and covered in Armored Lizard's scales. His attack shot upward to 2000.

"Now then, Cú will attack your lady knight!" Cleos yelled.

Cú ran up to Mermaid Knight. The mermaid tried to slash at him, only for the spear to skewer her arms, forcing her to drop the swords before the spear found its target in her heart.

E:3700 C:3600

"Ha!" Cleos exclaimed. "Now I will end my turn. And Cú's attack remains that high until my standby phase."

Edmure drew the top card of his deck. "My move then."

He scanned his hand. He did not have any monster that could take Cú on alone, but he was far from defenseless.

"I set a monster face down, and end my turn."

"My move then." Cleos drew. He had two cards in his hand, so his options should be limited.

Armored Lizard's scales disappeared from Cú's lance, returning the ritual monster to 500 attack points.

"I summon Takrimos in Attack Mode! Now your Umi empowers him as well."

A green sea serpent with blue fins and whiskers as thick as a rope appeared on the field. The water below it seemed to grow more violent as its attack rose up to 1700.

"Now, I activate Cú's ability again, removing Faith Bird from the graveyard to return him to 2000 attack points." Cleos explained.

Once again, Cú's lance changed, this time taking on a whitish blue feathery aesthetic along its length.

"Now then, Takrimos will destroy your monster, freeing Cú to attack directly!" Cleos ordered.

Takrimos dove into the water and swam over to the set monster, but when it went to slam its arm over it, a steel shield appeared and blocked it.

Holding the shield was a man in full plate armor, with a red cape flowing in the wind, and blondish hair billowing in the wind.

Unfortunately, Familiar Knight would be unable to withstand even a non-empowered Takrimos, and a second arm thrust broke the shield, letting Takrimos' mouth find Familiar Knight's exposed neck, ripping it out and turning that patch of water red.

"Familiar Knight has a special ability. When he is destroyed, we can both summon a level four monster in our hands. I choose Shocktapus, and Umi raises its attack to 1800." Edmure explained as he played it.

On the field came forth several pink tentacles from the water, and then Shocktapuses head emerged, more closely resembling a shark. From its nose came a long and barbed protrusion of steel.

"No matter. I can summon my own monster as well, and I choose my second Armored Lizard." Cleos said.

Once again, the man sized Lizard came forth.

"Now then, Cú will turn your Shocktapus into seafood! Then my Armored Lizard will attack directly."

Cú ran forward once again, sidestepping the steel barbed nose of Shocktapus, and driving his spear right into the sea monster's eye. As Shoctapus convulsed in its death throes, Armored Lizard ran up and slashed its claws at Edmure, which he blocked with his Duel Disk.

E: 2000 C: 3600

"I end my turn, and next you will fall." Cleos said, smugness growing in his voice.

"I would think twice about that. Your Spearman is having some trouble." Edmure said, pointing everyone's attention to the monster.

Tentacles shot out of the sea, restraining Cú and taking his spear away from him.

"W-whay?!" Cleos shouted, confused by what was going on.

"Shocktapus' ability. When he is destroyed, he becomes equipped to his killer, turning his attack to 0. And with no spell or traps to defend yourself, nor any special abilities, he is wide open." Edmure explained as he drew.

"Now then, I summon Unshaven Angler!"

A blue fish emerged from the water, It had a greenish beard, and its jaws made up the majority of its body. It stood at 1800 attack points thanks to Umi.

"But that is not all! I just drew this Spell card. Aqua Jet!" Edmure showed everyone.

A metallic board appeared, and floated itself over Unshaven Angler. On either side of the Monster's body were two cylinders with spinning blades inside them. His attack rose from 1800 to 2800.

"Now then, Unshaven Angler, destroy Cú!"

Water burst out from behind Aqua Jet, and sped Unshaven Angler towards the disarmed Spearman. Cú tried to dodge, but Shocktapus' tentacles kept him in place, allowing Unshaven Angler to relieve the man of his head. The rest of the body fell into the sea, turning even more of it red.

E: 2000 C: 800

"And with that, I end my turn." Edmure announced.

Cleos was now pale. He reached for his deck, but fumbled for a moment. It took the Frey three tries to peel the top card off of the deck.

"M-my turn." He said nervously. It was clear he had no idea what to do.

"I will change both of them into Defense Mode. And I end." Cleos said defeated.

"My move then." Edmure drew. He smirked as he looked at it. 'Perfect.'

"I summon my Spear Shark!"

A red Shark jumped out of the water, its nose having been replaced by a spear tip colored yellow.

"Now then, Angler will destroy Takrimos, and Spear Shark will end your Lizard!"

Angler shot forward once again, taking a bite out of Takrimos' head, while Spear Shark stabbed Armored Lizard's throat, ending them both."

"Now then, I end my turn." Edmure announced.

"I draw." Cleos said, still unsure of what to do. Any hope he could have had was taken at the sight of the card.

"...I set a monster and end my turn." Cleos muttered.

"And now it's back to me." Edmure said. He drew, but it mattered not.

"Spear Shark, destroy his face down!"

The red shark thrust forward, skewering the card and revealing it to be another Destroyer Golem.

E:2000 C: 300

"Now, Unshaven Angler, Finish this!" Edmure announced.

The large jawed fish swam forth, and bit right into Cleos' arm. He let out a scream of pain.

E: VICTOR C: DEFEAT

Cleos Frey fell to the ground. Landing on all fours, he started panting.

As the monsters faded and the crowd dispersed, Edmure walked through the field and towards the whimpering Frey.

"I'll be taking your Dragons now." Edmure said.

Ser Cleos reached his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the two gold coins.

For a moment, Edmure thought he could just jump up and run away, but he suddenly felt a weight in his outstretched hand. Looking at it, the coins were already there. A message appeared on his Duel Disk.

COINS OBTAINED. CLEOS FREY REMOVED FROM TOURNAMENT PARTICIPATION.

As the Frey continued to whimper, Edmure added the Dragons to his own.

"Nice job there Eddie!" Another voice called out.

Edmure turned and saw Ser Patrek. They had come to the Capital together, but had not seen each other all day.

"Thanks. Any luck on your end?" Edmure asked. Even if he did not win, so long as the Twins remained in Riverland hands, he would count it a victory.

Patrek smiled. "Unfortunately I was between you and Cleos. I lost to some merchant, but I only put one Dragon up, so I am still in."

Edmure found himself grinning. "Well, I suppose that is better than a complete loss."

"Sure is. Also, I couldn't help but notice something."

Edmure looked at him with trepidation. He figured if anyone would know it would be him.

"Which is?"

"The deck you are using. That's the one Lord Hoster forced you to use. Not the one you made yourself. Any reason?" Patrek asked.

Edmure cleared his throat and crossed his arms, trying to project an air of wisdom and authority. "Well, I am representing House Tully and the Riverlands. So, it may be more fitting to use such a deck."

"...You forgot your personal deck back at Riverrun, didn't you?" Patrek translated.

"...Perhaps." Edmure muttered.

AN: And Scene!

A lot to break down this chapter. But first, a question. Does this fic deserve an M Rating? Have I lived up to that, or do you think that I should lower it to T?

Moving on, first we have Viserys and Arianne. Viserys is still wary of her because they appear out of the blue with no way to help him, demanding that he go and fight. Arianne meanwhile is still emotional due to her family's fate, and Doran's inability to teach her how to politick shows. And at the same time, Jaehaerys and Maegor give commentary.

Next up, we have the arrival of Team Stark. From the perspective of Robb. I don't really use him much, so I thought I would give him the spotlight this chapter. We also have Renly go and meet them and an official rundown of the rules. As some of you guessed, the Gold Dragons are the tournament's version of Star Chips or Locator Cards. And I could not decide on which of the two ways to do it, so I had both.

A small scene of Robert and Stannis as the tournament rules get accepted by the Duel Disks, which they probably should have expected, but did not.

Finally we have the duel. I really wanted to get started, so I may have rushed past other characters joining. I may do flashback scenes or just exposition for how Tywin, Willas or Mya got here.

As for Cleos, he was just a throwaway character for this, so I basically just copied a low level deck from Duel Links. Probably gonna do that for several minor duels.

And we end with a funny moment with Edmure revealing that he forgot his regular deck at Riverrun, and is forced to use the one Hoster crafted for him.

Next chapter, we continue the tournament, and I may go past the pattern of 4 chapters per story. Depends how I handle the rest.

Until then, good luck with life, stay safe, and I will see you all next chapter.

Jaehaerys Joestar


	33. Chapter 33: Encounters

AN: I LIVE!!!!!!!  
I know you all have been waiting for this, but while the previous chapter was right after Midterms, I only wrote about two sections of this before Finals managed to get started. Good News on that front, my final grades were 93, 94, 96, 98, and another 96! So, I am all set for my last semester of my senior year.  
I figured it would make a good late Christmas gift to make it up to you all. I had hoped to also do the first chapter of the Fate story as well, but I unfortunately had to prioritize this story first. May have Fate chapter 1 done by New Years if I am lucky, but it would only be chapter 1, as I need to bing a few Let’s Plays and animes in order to get the characterizations right. Interestingly one of the Servants I plan on using has not actually appeared, though they were mentioned.   
With that out of the way, let’s get started!

TYWIN  
RED KEEP-2 DAYS BEFORE TOURNAMENT  
Tywin’s procession of Westerland duelists competing in the tournament had taken their time to get there. Word of them got to the city long before them, and Tywin expected Robert and Jon Arryn would be anxious over the thought of him coming. As they should. Did they really think that they could get away with depriving the Lannisters of the Twins? No, it was Robert no doubt. Jon Arryn was simply too weak to say no to the man he thought of as a son.   
Despite the ire he had at the reason he was here; Tywin still entered the Red Keep with the air of dignity befitting a Lannister. As Warden of the West, his presence alone was enough to justify the King himself watching the Lannister procession come.   
Tywin rode in and dismounted quickly. He walked over to his foolish son by law.   
A quick bow was made. Still precise and with the right amount of submission expected of a loyal vassal, it did nothing to stop anyone from sensing his hostility. Even Robert could sense that he was angered by this tournament and what it meant.   
“Your Grace. Apologies for intruding on your home so soon after departing.” Tywin said, as easy as if it were honest.  
“Think nothing of it, Lord Tywin. We are bound not just by oaths of fealty, but by family. Our homes are each other’s.” Robert said the expected response.   
‘So, what makes you think you can take our newest one?’ Tywin thought but did not speak.   
Tywin turned to look at the rest of the procession. With a minute nod, they fell out of their orderly form and began to unload the necessary objects to be brought to Tywin’s personal rooms; he doubted they had changed much since the war.   
He saw Tyrion and his two sellsword companions out of the corner of his eye as they began walking towards the library. He also knew that Ser Cleos- who had been given the duty of guarding the rear on the journey- would soon walk up to the both of them to present his case for the eighth time. So, Tywin did nothing to stop Robert when the king invited him into a more private room.   
Once they were away from most prying eyes- Tywin had no doubt Varys would soon be able to recount the conversation they were about to have verbatim- he let any sense of decorum melt off his posture.   
“I gave you the Mountain, and I reduced the debts of the crown. Despite not getting a betrothal with Princess Arrianne, I might add. And you decide to reward us by stealing what is rightfully my nephews?” Tywin lined out his immediate issues with Robert.   
The King did not flinch back, to his credit. Tywin was not a fool, he knew of Robert’s improvements, but even Aerys could flinch back when Tywin was wroth, even when they were on the best of terms. “Don’t act like that was all done out of the goodness of your heart. The Mountain was given up because you saw him lose value. If he was still of use, you would never have let us send him on a suicidal trap.” Robert rebutted. Leaning back in his chair, he changed his tone. “And Jon and I have already been planning the betrothal issue. We are ready to legitimize your niece Joy, and she can marry Trystane.” Robert said.  
Tywin could have laughed at the offer. But he did not. “Even if Joy and Trystane were wed this instant and go on to have a dozen sons, the moment Arriane returns to Dorne, the kingdom will flock to her. She has a greater claim due to the Rhoynish customs, and if she comes with Essosi troops at her back, then the pain of Dorne’s humiliation will fade. They will call her Nymeria’s return.”  
“Varys is already sending his ‘birds’ out to look for her. If she reaches her mother, we will know. Norvos will not risk us aligning with the other cities over one girl from a middling family.” Robert justified. “If she turns herself in, we can see about redoing negotiations. If not, we have nothing to worry about.”  
Tywin’s fury was not weakened by these words, but as always, his mind accepted the logic of them. There was not much he could do about it without risking more than he was comfortable with.   
Tywin nodded, signaling a near end of the conversation. “I hope you are correct in your decisions. But know that The Twins was a mistake. The Lion of Casterly Rock will fly above it by the Tournament’s end. I assure you that.”  
“Well then, I wish you luck.” Robert said as Tywin left to see to his rooms.

WINTERFELL-SEPT  
LADY CATELYN  
“...And keep Arya and Sansa safe while they are in King’s Landing. Let Robb and Samwell look over them.” Catelyn finished her prayers kneeling to the Mother. Or what was left of it.   
Officially, no one knew what happened. Septon Chayle just rushed into Ned’s solar one morning and claimed that someone had tried to wreck the Sept.   
Septon Chayle was unable to get full statues of the Seven created in the North, but he did manage to get masks carved to represent them. Now the masks were all cracked, and the one of the Father still had a lingering piss scent that the Septon could not get out. Ned had told her not to enter the Sept until it was presentable, but she entered the moment that Chayle said prayers could resume.   
No one knew who had done something so mad and vile as to attempt to wreck a Sept, but Ned vowed to her and the Septon to find out. But everyone knew WHY. With the narrowly avoided threat of the Sparrows getting so close, only to be repelled by one with Stark blood, tensions between the faiths were strained.   
Catelyn was… Contemplative about the repelled invasion. In some way, she realized that she was responsible for it, as it was her, in a moment of fear for Ned going to war, that ordered that Jon be sent away, allowing him and some of those Wildlings to be at the Moat, where Jon’s single combat against the High Sparrow turned him into the North’s favorite son.   
She could see it now. Even if Jon proves loyal, his sons-sons who carry the Stark look- challenging her Grandchildren’s lordship of Winterfell. Which Northern lords would fight for their liege? Which would think that the Starks had become more Andal than First Men. She understood that Ned had commanded Jon to be rewarded, but giving him the Moat? Why not a simpler, more humble Keep? The North had a handful of those hidden everywhere.  
Her thoughts of her yet to be born grandchildren brought her actual children to mind. Robb had proven himself fairly capable when Ned was at war, and he was prepared to head out himself to deal with the Sparrows. Bran and Rickon were growing into fine men, if a bit strange at times. Bran would sometimes just stare in the distance for a bit mid conversation, and Rickon… Well, Rickon was a wolf, in more ways than just his Sigil.   
If it truly came down to a matter of faith, then she feared for her children. While they had been raised in both faiths, there were many on either side who believed only theirs was to be worshipped. The Old Gods outnumbered the New in the North in terms of followers. That was not to say that the Seven were completely shunned. An old Maester from a century ago tried to find a rough count, and he said the split was roughly one of the Faith for every eight or nine Old God followers. In the south, the numbers were reversed. Should it come to conflict, then their only hope would be aid from the south. Which would be hindered as the Moat now to Jon’s name had never fallen.  
Catelyn’s thoughts and fears were brought to a halt when yelling from the front gate reached her ears. She walked towards it and saw a man trying to enter, only for the guards to block his path.  
“What is going on here?” Catelyn asked, removing any sign of her concern as she did her duties as Lady of Winterfell.   
“He claims to be a singer, M’lady.” Varly answered.   
“It’s the truth!” the man said. Now that she was closer, she could see his face better. He was slender, and of about average height. His hair was grey, save for some brown that refused to age, and laughter lines surrounded his mouth. In his hands was a lute, so his claim had some credibility.  
“We do not often get singers this far North.” Catelyn responded. “Why come all this way?”  
The singer smiled. “Why else? I heard that the Hero of the North was still living in Winterfell, rather than heading to Moat Cailin. I figured I could come here and talk with this, Jon Snow, get to know what happened with the Sparrows, and write my own song about it! It would be the greatest song to be sung in all the North!”   
Catelyn felt her blood boil. Another reminder of how great Jon Snow suddenly was in the eyes of everyone. “Well, I am sorry to say your trip was a waste. He has gone South to King’s Landing for the tournament. I am afraid he has likely already told the story.”   
“Ah, while that may be, none of those Southron singers could truly capture the emotions of   
The North.” The singer said. “If I need to wait to meet this savior, then I can. I would never impose myself, worry not. I can stay at your Winter Town if you don’t want me in the castle, or I could help in the kitchens or something.”   
Catelyn just wanted to get this over with to resume her proper duties. Besides that, she could hardly turn away a Norther singer who praised Jon. Not if she wanted to keep the worshippers of the Seven relatively safe. If word went around, then they would all suffer. She could not afford to be careless.   
“Perhaps. Lord Stark can make a final decision, but for now, you can come inside to rest at the very least. You must be tired… Forgive me, I did not ask your name.” Catelyn realized.   
“Ah, but of course.” The singer bowed to her. “I am the bard Abel. I look forward to meeting your husband, Lady Stark.”

STEPSTONES’ SEA- 50 MILES EAST OF TYROSHI TERRITORY  
MELISANDRE  
The ship-renamed by its new owners as -- R’hllor’s Chosen -- was a half day away from reaching an island they could restock on. Until then, Melisandre could do nothing but stare in the fire while reflecting on her gains at Dragonstone.   
Ser Axell had proven himself a fine addition to the cause, in much the same way as a twig added to an already roaring flame. He learned of her power and sought to try to turn it to his own goals in due time. But his title as Castellan let him access the money needed to buy the ship quick enough for them to evade the Great Other’s spies. Lady Selyse had given to the cause as well, in her own way that was proving to be just as useful. The Highborn lady was a true believer worthy of joining the Red Temple. The rest, none of whom truly significant to Westerosi society, and thus easy to sway with speeches about grand destinies awaiting them, numbered less than ten, and their devotion ranged between Axell and Selyse’s.  
Melisandre bitterly remembered the High Priest of The Temple. Not Benerro, the unfaithful swine, nor any of his predecessors who slowly chipped away at the faith from the inside. But the one who bought her. The one who burned away Melony and allowed Melisandre to take the slave’s place. Under him, the Temple had been truly devoted, and Selyse’s devotion would be considered rather weak in comparison to the average believer. But he burned too brightly, never mastering the magic to lengthen one’s youth. His life was extinguished too quickly for him to name a direct successor. Instead, the Triarchs got involved, and managed to force the temple to stop their burnings of the unfaithful, fearful that their immunity would one day run out. Melisandre had been forced to watch as her fellow devotees died, be it of disagreements over doctrine or age. Before long, Melisandre had hardly recognized the temple.   
But despite her new loyal followers, Melisandre had not been able to sway most of the island. They were too enraptured by the false idols of the Seven, and a few of the Trees that the Enemy used to spy on R'hllor’s faithful.  
Melisandre saw a brief flicker in the flames that broke the usual pattern they had been doing. Her eyes focused more on that spot.   
Unfortunately, the ship did not have a hearth or any place to light a fire in it. Melisandre had been forced to settle with putting several candles in a bowl and watching them from there. Pathetic compared to what she usually used, but it could not be helped.   
The fire of the candle that flickered turned purple for the briefest moment. Melisandre focused even harder.   
Seeing how badly her recruitment was going on Dragonstone, she began to fear that she was the last of the true believers. But then she saw the purple erupt in a night fire. And it began showing her visions. Clearer ones than she had ever had in a long time. It was through these purple flames that she learned what she must do to the unbelievers of Dragonstone. Instead of burning their mortal forms, she must burn the souls. Only through such a sacrifice could R’hllor prepare for the final battle. As well as awaken Azor Ahai from his self-doubt.   
In the purple flames she saw a ship. One that was heading towards her. While she could not make out any recognizable details, it looked like the ship was damaged somewhat from a bad storm.   
Melisandre was about to theorize what could be on the ship, when the scent of the flames answered her. Rotten Onions.   
Melisandre smiled. The false advisor who got to Azor Ahai before her. The Great Other’s unwritten pawn.   
Melisandre walked out of her cabin. There, one of the sailors who worked on the ship was waiting, charged with obeying her.   
“Tell Lord Axell that once we restock, we must leave immediately. We must find a suitable location for the first direct battle of the Great War.”  
JON SNOW  
SEPT OF BAELOR  
Having never been in King’s Landing before, Jon did not know all the streets or where they led. Which unfortunately meant that he could end up in a place without knowing how.   
Which was how he found himself standing in front of the largest symbol of the New Gods in Westeros.   
‘I should probably get out of here.’ Jon thought to himself.   
He may have been a hero to the North, but the High Sparrow was said to have had much support from the actual Faith. Which made any Sept the last place he wanted to be.  
Once again, the High Sparrow’s death came into Jon’s mind. It had been quick, but Jon had seen it in every detail.   
Ygritte’s… diversion, had been very effective, but Jon doubted that he could just keep his emotions hidden forever.   
Jon went to turn and walk away from the sept, when he saw the door open and a boy who looked to be about his age came out. He carried himself like a noble. From what he had heard, they were too old to be Prince Tommen, and Prince Joffrey had made some mistake during the war that led to a temporary exile.   
The boy was probably another Lannister.   
Before Jon could return to trying to find his way around, he found himself knocked over by a rather imposing figure.   
He was taller than Jon but looked little more than half a decade older than him. He had golden red hair, and he openly wore a breastplate with a purple lightning bolt emblazoned on it. The sigil of House Dondarrion.  
“Apologies there, good Ser.” The man said. He reached a hand down and Jon grabbed it. “My fault entirely. I suppose you could say that I have been a bit on edge since the Tournament began, and I usually keep my Duel Disk from appearing. I thought this would be more organized than a melee. I am Beric Dondarrion.”  
Jon was pulled up. “I’m no Ser. Appreciate the apology though.” He spoke.   
‘So, this was the Lightning Lord.’ Jon Realized. He had become a hero in Dorne, and Jon had heard his name in passing several times since coming to the city.  
“My lord!” A voice called out and a boy closer to Jon’s age ran up to Beric, with his own Duel Disk on his arm. “I thought I lost you there.”  
“No need to worry Podrick. We will stick together. I was just chatting with this fine fellow...Apologies again, I don’t think I caught your name.” Beric said, turning from the squire to Jon.  
‘Well, no point hiding it now.’ Jon thought to himself.   
“Jon. Jon Sno...Jon Stark.” He corrected himself. He may have been nervous about being near the Sept of the Capital, but that nervousness faded as he used his house’s name.  
Beric’s face quickly turned to one of shock. Then, just as quickly, shame. “Ah so you are the Hero of the North. It’s an honor to meet you I suppose. Though, on behalf of those of the South, I apologize for making you handle that. It was a burden started by us. You should not have had to handle it.” Beric bowed to Jon.   
“Think nothing of it. It is done. I was just protecting my home.” Jon assured the Lord.  
As Beric stood up, he looked at Jon’s own Duel Disk. “I take it you are in the tournament as well?” At Jon’s nod he continued. “I don’t suppose you could use a Fire and Dark Dragons?” Beric asked, revealing his own.   
“My lord? Are you sure?” Podrick asked nervously. The squire worried his mentor would lose quickly to someone of Jon’s reputation, however new it was.  
“That depends. Could you use a Dark and Water?” Jon asked.  
Beric smiled. “Then I suppose we have a match.”  
The two of them walked away from each other and readied their decks. Podrick running by Beric’s side.  
“I admit, I am curious to see just how powerful the one who ended the Sparrows is.” Beric confessed.  
“If you want to see that, then show that you can handle it.” Jon replied as they both drew their hands.  
“May the Best Duelist Win!” Both declared at once.

AN: And that’s a wrap!  
Originally, I was planning on having Jon duel this chapter, but I realized I could not do the whole duel and get this out when I wanted to. So it closes off this chapter. Ironically, it was the first thing I tried to write, but when Finals took too much time, I added the other POVs when I could.   
First, a flashback to Tywin and Robert’s meeting in the city. Tywin wants answers, and the topic of Dornish repercussions comes up. Tywin is determined to win the Twins for the Lannisters.  
Catelyn’s mind shows her fears regarding Jon. Also, tried to give a ratio of religion, as we know some Houses are of the Seven in the North. In addition, a singer has come to Winterfell, and he has big plans for the North as a whole.   
Melisandre gives some of her backstory and mindset. We see how she interprets the purple flames Darkstar is sending her way. I did toy briefly with the idea of her making a large fire and accidentally burning the ship and making everyone drown, but as satisfying for us as that would be, it would leave unresolved plots. She is also made aware of Davos’ hunt. Figure I will do that one after the tournament, along with an explanation of what exactly happened on Dragonstone.  
Finally, we have Jon. Who got lost. He ends up in quite possibly the worst place in the city for himself, but a neutral party intervenes. Next up, we get Beric vs Jon!  
A serious question for my readers: should I change this and my other fics to T, or keep them M? Have I lived up to an M rating, or should I make it T and expand the possible reader base?  
With that, I hope you all stay safe and have a good holiday season to wrap up this rather lackluster year.   
Wish you all luck in whatever you need, and I will see you all next chapter.  
Jaehaerys Joestar


End file.
